Celtics Beat Hornets 119-80 as Tatum Drops 34 in NBA Cup Blowout

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Boston Celtics blew out the Charlotte Hornets 119-80 on Friday night, Nov. 6, 2026, at Spectrum Center in Emirates NBA Cup East Group C play. The Celtics Hornets result was Boston’s seventh win in eight games and improved the Celtics to 2-0 in Cup play, while Charlotte fell to 0-2 in the Cup and has now lost six straight, according to CBS Sports and the Associated Press.

Boston entered the night at 7-2 overall after holding off Milwaukee two nights earlier, covered in TBR’s Celtics-Bucks 109-102 recap. TBR’s Hornets NBA Cup preview flagged Charlotte’s recent skid and Boston’s Cup opener on the road.

First half: Tatum’s 18 and 17 threes bury Charlotte

Boston scored 40 points in the first quarter and 30 in the second for a 70-39 halftime lead. Jayson Tatum scored 18 points in the opening frame, tying his career high for a first quarter, and outscored Charlotte’s starting five 18-16 by himself in the period, according to Celtics.com’s Keys to the Game by Taylor Snow. Tatum also created 30 points in the first quarter, a career high for a single frame, per Celtics.com.

The Celtics made 17 of 31 threes in the first half, tying the franchise record for first-half three-pointers, Celtics.com reported. Derrick White scored all 18 of his points before the break on 6-of-10 shooting and 4-of-6 from deep, with four rebounds and five assists in 25:26 for the night. Payton Pritchard added early spacing from three as Boston stretched the lead into the 30s by intermission. Charlotte shot 20 and 19 points by quarter and never cut the deficit into single digits after the opening minutes.

Second half: margin hits 46; stars sit the fourth

Boston outscored Charlotte 26-18 in the third and matched the Hornets 23-23 in the fourth while emptying the bench. The Celtics led by as many as 46 points. Per the Boston Globe, Boston’s stars sat the fourth quarter once the outcome was decided. The final margin was 39 points — 119-80 — with quarter totals of 40-30-26-23 for Boston and 20-19-18-23 for Charlotte, according to the NBA.com box score.

Charlotte’s highest scorers were Naz Reid with 14 points, Tidjane Salaün with 13 and Sion James with 11. The Hornets finished 27-of-92 from the field (29.3%) and 11-of-50 from three (22.0%), with 15-of-17 free throws, 43 rebounds, 18 assists and 15 turnovers. Grant Williams was listed DND — Injury/Illness. The Associated Press noted Charlotte has lost six straight since coach Charles Lee benched Reid against Detroit for not meeting “team standards.”

Tatum, White and the supporting cast

Tatum finished with 34 points on 9-of-16 field goals, 5-of-8 threes and 11-of-11 free throws, plus eight rebounds, nine assists, one steal and one block in 29:02. He was a plus-36 with four turnovers. White’s 18 first-half points set the early tone. Pritchard scored 12 points on 4-of-6 threes with six rebounds and five assists in 23:22. Sam Hauser added nine points on 3-of-5 threes. Paul George scored eight points on 3-of-11 shooting.

As a team, Boston shot 38-of-83 from the field (45.8%), 24-of-44 from three (54.5%) and 19-of-23 from the line (82.6%), with 51 rebounds, 33 assists, four steals, eight blocks and 18 turnovers, per NBA.com. The Boston Globe reported season highs for made threes and three-point percentage (54.5%). Boston’s inactive list was Dillon Mitchell, Devin Carter, Amari Williams and Christopher Cenac Jr. Charlotte’s inactives were Kylan Boswell, Michael Ajayi, Kon Knueppel, PJ Hall, Dennis Schroder and Moussa Diabate, matching the NBA.com game report.

NBA Cup: Boston 2-0 with a +53 point differential

The game counted toward Emirates NBA Cup East Group C. Boston is 2-0 in Cup play; Charlotte is 0-2. Point differential is a key Cup tiebreaker, and Celtics.com reported Boston has outscored its first two Cup opponents by a combined +53. The blowout margin of 39 on Friday is the bulk of that edge. The win also fits a broader stretch: Boston is 7-2 overall and has won seven of its last eight, per CBS/AP.

Friday’s result followed Boston’s recent form after the 108-97 win over Orlando in which Tatum scored 32 and the home win over Milwaukee. The Cup schedule keeps differential and group standing in focus as Boston continues its early Cup run.

By the numbers: threes, efficiency and Cup math

The 39-point final margin (119 minus 80) matches a game Boston controlled from the first quarter. Boston’s 24 made threes more than doubled Charlotte’s 11. By TBR’s calculation from the NBA.com box score, Boston’s three-point make rate was 54.5% (24 of 44) versus Charlotte’s 22.0% (11 of 50) — a 32.5 percentage-point gap. Field-goal percentage favored Boston 45.8% to 29.3%, a 16.5-point edge. Boston also won the rebounding battle 51-43 and assists 33-18.

Tatum’s line of 34 points, eight rebounds and nine assists in under 30 minutes produced a near triple-double efficiency night while he sat the fourth. White’s entire 18-point output came before halftime. The first-half three barrage (17 makes) tied the franchise mark for a half and set up the season-high 24 threes for the game, per Celtics.com and the Globe. On the Cup ledger, the +39 margin lifts Boston’s two-game Cup differential to +53, per Celtics.com — useful if East Group C comes down to point differential as a tiebreaker.

Charlotte’s 29.3% shooting and six-game losing streak frame the other side of the box score. Reid’s 14 points led the Hornets; the starting five’s early inability to match Tatum’s first-quarter burst (18-16) set a tone that never flipped.

Sources

• Celtics.com: Taylor Snow, Keys to the Game — Celtics at Hornets, Nov. 6, 2026
• NBA.com: Celtics at Hornets box score
• CBS Sports / AP: Celtics at Hornets box score and recap
• Boston Globe: Celtics-Hornets game score and notes

Additional sources

• Emirates NBA Cup East Group C standings context and +53 Cup point differential (Celtics.com Keys to the Game)
• Charlotte six-game losing streak and Grant Williams DND — Injury/Illness (CBS/AP)
• Franchise first-half threes record (17) and season highs for made threes / 3PT% (Celtics.com; Boston Globe)
• Wikimedia Commons: Spectrum Center 2018 featured photo (file photo, CC BY 2.0)