The Celtics will host the Hornets on Friday, their penultimate game of the regular season.
Boston will be without Jaylen Brown, who has missed 11 games with a right knee impingement this season. Brown will not be eligible for the end-of-season awards like All-NBA, missing the 65-game minimum.
The Celtics are locked in as the No. 2 seed for the Eastern Conference playoffs and rested their top six players throughout Wednesday’s 96-76 loss at Orlando. A victory would have given the Celtics a share of the NBA record for most road wins in a season as they finished 33-8 away from home. The 2015-16 Warriors were 34-7 on the road.
Charlotte was eliminated from playoff contention last month and may be more concerned about the NBA draft than its final two games. The Celtics and Hornets will wrap up the regular season with another game in Boston on Sunday.
The Celtics and Hornets played back-to-back games in Charlotte earlier this season. Boston won 124-109 on Nov. 1 and 113-103 on Nov. 2.
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When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: TD Garden, Boston
TV, radio: NBCSB, WBZ-FM 98.5
HORNETS
Season record: 19-61. vs. spread: 35-43, 2 pushes. Over/under: 32-46, 2 pushes
Last 10 games: 1-9. vs. spread: 1-9. Over/under: 6-4
CELTICS
Season record: 59-21. vs. spread: 38-42. Over/under: 36-43, 1 push
Last 10 games: 8-2. vs. spread: 6-4. Over/under: 5-5
TEAM STATISTICS
Points per game: Charlotte 105.5, Boston 116.4
Points allowed per game: Charlotte 114.3, Boston 107.6
Field goal percentage: Charlotte .431, Boston .463
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Opponent field goal percentage: Charlotte .468, Boston .452
3-point percentage: Charlotte .339, Boston .368
Opponent 3-point percentage: Charlotte .354, Boston .347
Stat of the day: The Celtics have the third-best defensive rating in the NBA (110.4), while the Hornets are ranked at No. 28 (115.7).
Notes: Boston earned a 119-117 overtime victory against the New York Knicks on Tuesday night, then decided to rest Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, and Al Horford for their second game in as many nights. ... The Celtics committed nine turnovers in the first quarter against Orlando — 16 in the game — and shot 7 of 40 (17.5 percent) from 3-point range. The Celtics finished with their lowest point total of the season. ... Although the Hornets have lost five in a row and seven straight on the road, they received a strong performance from Nick Smith Jr. in the 126-96 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday, when he collected 28 points and 10 rebounds. Smith is averaging 9.9 points and 2.1 rebounds per game this season. ... The Hornets haven’t qualified for the NBA playoffs since 2016, when they earned the No. 6 seed and lost to the Heat in seven games in the first round. Charlotte qualified for the NBA’s play-in tournament in 2021 and 2022 but failed to advance either time.
Rumsha Siddiqui can be reached at rumsha.siddiqui@globe.com. Follow her on X @rumshasidd.