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Wednesday, Apr. 18 7:00pm ET
Hornets will open at Miami

RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

BOSTON (AP) – Jamal Mashburn is going back to Miami and this time he wants to beat the Heat.

Paul Pierce
Although they missed the playoffs, Paul Pierce and the Celtics connected with the Boston fans.

Mashburn had 21 points and 10 rebounds as the Charlotte Hornets beat the Boston Celtics 97-92 Wednesday night to head into the playoffs against his former team with a four-game winning streak.

"I've started a new chapter in my NBA career with the Charlotte Hornets," said Mashburn, obtained in a nine-player offseason trade. "I have no hard feelings but I want to beat them."

P.J. Brown, acquired in the same trade, had 15 points and 11 rebounds, including a putback layup that gave the Hornets a 95-92 lead with 23 seconds left.

"We match up well with Miami, especially on defense," he said.

The Celtics missed the playoffs for the sixth straight year and had their eighth consecutive losing record at 36-46. But they were 24-24 since Jim O'Brien took over as coach on Jan. 8 after Rick Pitino resigned.

O'Brien is expected to be rehired in the next few days.

"He's earned the respect of the players," said Antoine Walker, who led Boston with 32 points. "He deserves (a chance) to implement his system."

Charlotte was a team of streaks, starting at 20-9 but losing four straight games before recovering in their last four. Still, they were 26-27 after their strong start. They were 2-2 against Miami.

"It's been a season of stresses and we're just trying to get everybody healthy," Hornets coach Paul Silas said. "You've got to tighten up your rotation in the playoffs."

Silas got contributions from most of his team Wednesday as six of the 10 Hornets who played scored in double figures, including Hersey Hawkins with 15 points.

Paul Pierce had 25 for the Celtics, who competed with Indiana for the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference before losing eight of their last 11 games.

"We fought extremely hard, especially the second half of the season," Pierce said. "Hopefully (the loss) will make us hungrier for next year."

Charlotte led 89-83 before the Celtics came back in the last four minutes.

Milt Palacio's layup and Pierce's 3-pointer cut the lead to 89-88. Mashburn hit a jumper, but Walker made it 91-90 with two free throws.

Mashburn made two free throws before Palacio's layup left Charlotte ahead 93-92 with 1:08 remaining.

The critical play came when Baron Davis missed a shot from the top of the key, but Brown tipped the ball in with 23 seconds to play.

The Celtics missed their next shot and the Hornets ended the scoring with Mashburn's two free throws with 8.8 seconds remaining.

"We only shot eight free throws in the first half," Charlotte's David Wesley said. "We talked at halftime about taking the ball to the basket."

Trailing 58-52 early in the third quarter, the Celtics got the next eight points and led 60-58 with 7:10 left in the period. The Hornets entered the fourth quarter with a 75-74 lead after Jamaal Magloire hit a tie-breaking free throw with 30 seconds remaining.

Game notes
Christopher Masse of Cranston, R.I., won $77,777 by sinking a 3-point shot and a halfcourt shot after the first quarter in a promotion staged by Foxwoods Resort casino in Mashantucket, Conn. He was randomly selected after entering to participate in the contest, held once every home game. ... Pierce went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line and finished with a club record 738 free-throw attempts. Cedric Maxwell, now a radio broadcaster for the Celtics, set the old record of 716 in 1978-79. ... Charlotte swept the season series with Boston 4-0.

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Charlotte Clubhouse

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RECAPS
Charlotte 97
Boston 92

Chicago 92
Philadelphia 86

Toronto 98
Washington 92

Indiana 105
Cleveland 101

New York 94
Detroit 88

Miami 103
Orlando 91

Dallas 120
Minnesota 100

Denver 110
Sacramento 100

Seattle 105
San Antonio 67


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