The Hornets, like every team in the unusually compact Western Conference playoff race, know that a string of losses can alter their position dramatically.
After losing at Boston, 112-92, Friday night, they will put a premium on avoiding consecutive losses when they play at Toronto on Sunday. The Hornets (49-22) are 2-1 on their six-game road trip after seeing a five-game winning streak end.
"There are still games left to go," forward Peja Stojakovic said, "and whenever you see the standings, they are changing, so it's real tough."
The Hornets lost to the Raptors, 97-92, in the New Orleans Arena on New Year's Eve.
CELTICS 112, HORNETS 92: The Celtics outscored the Hornets, 32-15, in the third quarter to turn around the game in Boston on Friday, and avenge a loss in New Orleans six days earlier.
The Hornets scored just 32 second-half points, the same number of points they had in the fourth quarter in New Orleans in a game in which they finished with 23 points more than the Celtics allow on average.
The Hornets were outr-ebounded, 40-29. Five Celtics scored in double-figures and they shot just under 60 percent from the field as a team.
"We had a lack of communication on defense, which has been a problem all season, but tonight it was especially bad," said Coach Byron Scott, whose 47th birthday was Friday. "We've been winning games, so maybe we weren't concerned that we weren't playing the type of defense we need to play, but tonight it caught up to us."
