BOSTON (AP) Jeremy Lin scored 19 of his 25 points in Charlotte’s big second quarter, carrying the Hornets to a 114-100 win over the Boston Celtics on Monday night.
Kemba Walker scored 18 points, and Al Jefferson and Marvin Williams each had 16 for the Hornets, who are in a tight race with Boston and Miami in the Eastern Conference playoff chase.
Isaiah Thomas and Avery Bradley led Boston with 17 points apiece. It was just the Celtics’ third loss in their past 21 home games.
As with many of his visits to Boston, Lin had a number of Asian-American fans holding signs and cheering his play. The 27-year-old guard starred at Harvard. Four years ago when he sparked the New York Knicks, Lin’s rise was called “Linsanity.”
His big game came a night after he scored one point in a loss to Washington.
Data curated by PointAfter
The Hornets trailed by four points after the first quarter, but took charge with a 31-3 run over the final nine minutes of the second. Lin paced the spree with a 3-pointer and scored 11 straight points over a 1:41 span.
Boston committed six turnovers in the quarter and shot just 13.6 percent (3 of 22) while Charlotte made 57.9 percent of its shots (11 of 19).
The Hornets led 94-72 after three.
The Celtics made a brief run in the fourth, but never got their deficit into single digits.
TIP-INS
Hornets: Jefferson made his first start since Nov. 29 because Cody Zeller was out with a bruised sternum. Zeller had started the past 57 games.
Celtics: F Jae Crowder was sick Saturday, but coach Brad Stevens said he was feeling better. ... Bradley picked up four fouls in just 13 minutes in the opening half. Kelly Olynyk had three in only 10 minutes.
PERFECT TIMING
The Celtics gave out T-shirts to fans with green letters that read “Asian American Night.” The national anthem was performed by a group of Asian Americans and there was a halftime performance as well.
POOR SHOWING
The Celtics matched their worst quarter of the season by scoring 13 points in the second.
UP NEXT
Hornets: Host Orlando on Wednesday.
Celtics: Host Miami on Wednesday.
