BOSTON (AP) - Isaiah Thomas scored 28 points and the Boston Celtics recovered from a 16-point third-quarter deficit to defeat the Charlotte Hornets 106-98 on Friday night.
It was the third straight win for the Celtics, who were outscored 25-1 over stretch of nine-plus minutes that spanned the end of the second quarter and beginning of the third. Marvin Williams' layup at the 3:27 mark in the third gave the Hornets the biggest lead either team had, at 16 points.
Led by Thomas, who scored 21 points in the second half, the Celtics battled back to tie it at 80 on his 3-pointer and reclaimed the lead for good, at 89-88, on Jonas Jerebko's layup at the 5:28 mark.
In his third game since joining the Celtics in a deadline deal with Detroit, Jerebko had 16 points and 10 rebounds.
The Hornets were again led by Mo Williams, who scored 31 points.
