Three studs, three duds as the Celtics silence the Hornets, Grant Williams

It's rare for the Boston Celtics to come out on top in the regular season.

But that's exactly what they did Saturday night in Charlotte.

The Celtics, who were without Jaylen Brown, defeated the Hornets for the second straight year as they earned a 113-103 win at the Spectrum Center to complete a two-game mini-sweep.

The drama of Boston's win Friday night when Grant Williams promoted Jayson Tatum didn't linger as there was no payback for the former Celtics forward. The Celtics stayed away from extracurricular games and improved their mark to 6-1 this season.

Here are three studs and three duds from Boston scoring a second win in Charlotte:

PIECES
Payton Pritchard
Pritchard's shooting clinic made their next stop. The sharp-shooting guard made four of his six three-pointers in the second quarter and finished with 22 points on 8-for-15 shooting off the bench. Pritchard's 3-point burst was crucial in helping the Celtics build a 21-point lead in the first half, and it was his fourth game this season with at least five 3-pointers.

Luke Kornet
The only player who had a better shooting night – albeit less difficult shots – than Pritchard was Kornet. Kornet simply couldn't and didn't. The 7-foot-2 center shot a perfect 6-for-6 from the field and also knocked down all seven of his free throw attempts.

Kornet did a little bit of everything in a larger role, starting alongside Al Horford with Brown sidelined. Kornet collected 19 points, four rebounds, three assists and two blocks to show Boston's strength.

Jrue holiday
Holiday remained calm and humble in the win. He scored a total of just 13 points on 5-for-12 shooting, along with six assists and five rebounds. Certainly not an overwhelming performance, but with the game hanging in the balance, Holiday had a couple of big baskets in the fourth quarter to keep the Hornets at bay.

Idiots
Celtics third quarter performance
This looked like the old Celtics teams that went bust after halftime. The Hornets did what they wanted early in the third quarter, going on a 17-2 run to cut an 18-point halftime deficit to a measly three points. The Celtics' 3-point shooting dried up in the frame as they shot 2 of 15 from beyond the arc, but they never adjusted to attacking the paint. If the Celtics had come out of the break with more urgency, the Hornets never would have managed to get close.

Grant Williams
Williams' performances in the last two games ensured that Celtics fans aren't missing out on much when it comes to Williams. He had as many fouls as points on Saturday, five each, and shot just 2 of 6 from the field. That ineffectiveness, coupled with his reckless fouling on Tatum, ensured it was an all-around ugly performance against his former team.

Al Horford
The Celtics gave Horford the first play of the back-to-back so the 38-year-old would be fresher for the second game – a routine practice for the team in recent seasons. The only problem was that Horford was so invisible Saturday night that fans probably thought the Celtics had given the veteran center both nights off. Horford didn't score a point as he went 0-for-4 from the field. He had six rebounds and five assists.