Kornet and Pritchard perform in the absence of Brown vs. Hornets originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Celtics won all seven games last season with Luke Kornet in the starting lineup. They extended that winning streak Saturday in Charlotte.
Kornet started in place of Jaylen Brown, who was ruled out due to a left hip strain. Boston went with a double lineup of Kornet and veteran Al Horford on the second night of their back-to-back vs. the Hornets.
Being ready for the C’s time and time again, Kornet rose to the occasion. He played a key role on both ends, recording a season-high 19 points with four rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal.
“Yeah, he’s great,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said of Kornet after the 113-103 win. “He gets a lot of things that go unnoticed. One of the things they don’t chart is blockouts so someone else gets the rebound. So he does a great job of keeping his man off the glass so someone else gets it can get.” .
I just thought his physicality versus their switching allowed us to get some easy looks. Just a great presence around the rim.”
Payton Pritchard also stepped up for the C’s. He scored 22 points on 6-of-12 shooting from 3-point range to compensate for Brown’s absence.
“Payton was great tonight,” Kornet told Kayla Burton of NBC Sports Boston during his postgame interview. “We can always rely on him and his energy, especially in these kind of small back-to-backs. When everyone has the same goal and mission and we hold each other to it, we make a great team. “
As great as Kornet and Pritchard were in Saturday’s win, the Celtics hope to have Brown back in the starting lineup when they visit the Atlanta Hawks on Monday. Brown will reportedly undergo a second MRI on his left hip flexor, which he said has been bothering him for two and a half weeks. Mazzulla told reporters before Saturday’s game that Brown is considered day-to-day.
Tip-off for Monday’s game in Atlanta is scheduled for 7:45 PM ET.
