Charlotte Hornets (23-32) at Boston Celtics (22-33), 7:30 p.m. (ET)
(SportsNetwork.com) - The Boston Celtics have been playing good basketball of late and will try to continue that momentum Friday night when the Charlotte Hornets stop by TD Bank Garden.
The Celtics have won two in a row and six of their last nine, including four in a row at home.
On Wednesday, Boston used a big second-half run to dispatch the New York Knicks, 115-94. It was the fourth consecutive game with 100-plus points for the Celtics, who close this three-game homestand Sunday against the Golden State Warriors.
Newly acquired Jonas Jerebko's 20 points spurred a 34-6 spurt in the second half. That run, which overlapped the third and fourth quarters, turned a six- point Celtics' deficit into a commanding 96-74 lead with 7:45 remaining.
Evan Turner did his part as well with a 10-point, 12-rebound, 10-assist triple double. Isaiah Thomas chipped in 19 points and Jae Crowder supplied 18 as the Celtics received a huge effort from their second unit.
"We were playing good basketball on the offensive end," Crowder said. "We just had to find a way to get stops and play up and down, so once we started doing that the game started going our way."
Boston outscored the Knicks 18-4 over the final six minutes of the third quarter. Marcus Smart knocked down back-to-back treys to ignite a 16-2 stretch to begin the final frame.
New York never got its deficit under 17 points the rest of the way.
The Hornets stopped a five-game losing streak on Wednesday with a 98-86 road victory over the Derrick Rose-less Chicago Bulls.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had 18 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Hornets. Mo Williams added 17 points and five assists for the Hornets, who snapped a two- game road slide.
Al Jefferson contributed 16 points and seven rebounds. Brian Roberts and Gerald Henderson had 12 and 11 points, respectively, for the Hornets.
"I thought we had good intensity and focus the whole game," Charlotte head coach Steve Clifford said. "We had a really good fourth quarter, which is really important."
The first three quarters featured 18 lead changes and 15 ties, with Charlotte holding a 67-65 lead. Ahead 76-73, the Hornets created some distance with a 9-1 run. Kidd-Gilchrist tallied the final four points of the spurt to make it 85-74 with 6:01 to play.
Charlotte used an 8-0 flurry moments later to put the game out of reach.
The Hornets visit the Orlando Magic on Sunday.
The Hornets have won both matchups this season, including one in Boston.