The Boston Celtics produced one of their most dominant performances of the season on Friday night, overwhelming the Charlotte Hornets 119-80 on the road in an Emirates NBA Cup game.
Jayson Tatum led the way with 34 points, eight rebounds and nine assists, according to the NBA scoreboard and the Friday night round-up, as Boston improved to 7-2 and Charlotte fell to 3-7 — their sixth straight defeat.
The 39-point margin was the biggest of Friday’s nine-game NBA Cup slate, and it underlined just how far apart the two sides are right now.
Celtics in control from the start
Boston never looked in trouble. The Celtics controlled the game on both ends of the floor, with Tatum orchestrating the offence and the defence holding Charlotte to just 80 points — the lowest total of the night across the league.
The Hornets, who have now lost six in a row, could not find any rhythm against a Boston side that shared the scoring and moved the ball crisply throughout.
Hornets’ injury worries
Charlotte’s problems were compounded by the absence of rookie Kon Knueppel, who left his season debut less than six minutes in after experiencing soreness in his left leg, re-aggravating a hamstring issue that had kept him out through training camp. Head coach Charles Lee said the team will evaluate him further after the road trip.
Knueppel had missed the first eight games with the strain, and his return lasting less than six minutes is a blow for a Hornets side already struggling for consistency.
What comes next
Boston visit the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday night, while Charlotte will look to end their losing run and get Knueppel back on the floor. The Celtics, at 7-2, are firmly in the early-season mix in the Eastern Conference — and on this evidence, they are only getting better.
The win was Boston’s second in a row and keeps them firmly in the early-season mix in the Eastern Conference, where they now sit at 7-2. Charlotte, meanwhile, have lost six straight and sit at 3-7, and the Hornets will need to find answers quickly — on both ends of the floor — if they are to stay in touch in the East.
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Sources: NBA scoreboard via CraftedNBA (Nov 7, 2026); NigFooty NBA round-up (Nov 7, 2026); Game Day Tourist NBA news round-up (Nov 6, 2026).
