Boston Celtics downed by Charlotte Hornets 125-104 after onslaught of 3-pointers

The Celtics couldn’t keep pace with the Hornets, who seemingly hit every 3-pointer, in a 125-104 loss Sunday at Spectrum Center. Charlotte was the better, more efficient offensive team as Boston couldn’t contain the Hornets defensively.

Jaylen Brown and Kemba Walker led the C’s with 20 points, though efficiency was an issue. Jayson Tatum had 19 points and 11 rebounds, but he’s been turnover-prone of late as he finished with five giveaways Sunday. Charlotte spread the ball in impressive fashion, racking up 40 assists on 47 made field goals as four Hornets scored more than 20 points.

Boston has now lost three of its last four games, immediately following its six-game winning streak. A huge part of those losses were because of injuries and availability, but the C’s were almost at a full roster Sunday.

The Celtics return home for a four-game home stand, hosting the Oklahoma City Thunder at 7 p.m. Tuesday at TD Garden next.

Here are four takeaways from Boston’s loss to Charlotte:

Celtics nearing full strength: Only one player, Robert Williams III, was on the injury report for Sunday’s game. It was a stark difference to even just a few games ago; the C’s finally looked like they were getting healthy. That didn’t translate to a victory as the Hornets looked like an offensive juggernaut Sunday. Brown had 20 points, but it was on 8-for-22 shooting as he started off sluggish. Evan Fournier put up another dud in his second game back, finishing 0-for-3 in 20 minutes, though he’s still working his way back into shape.

Charlotte couldn’t miss 3s: The Hornets hit their first five 3-pointers on the night and that momentum just carried for the rest of the game. While the Celtics did a lot of good offensively, they failed to to contain Charlotte from beyond the arc. The Hornets finished 21-for-43 from 3-point land, and seemingly couldn’t miss all game to defeat the Celtics.

Injury scare: It was a strange play, but Walker looked like he tweaked his left side midway through the second quarter. He sprinted to contest a 3-pointer, coming up short and grabbing at his left side. Walker immediately jogged off to the locker room as there was some worry of his status. Fortunately, Walker returned and seemed to be fine, though he was grimacing at later parts of the game. Walker finished with 20 points, six rebounds and four assists.

Huge playoff implications: Sunday was an important game for both sides when it came to the standings. The Hornets had been lagging behind the rest of the Eastern Conference, but a win pushed them back up to .500 and 30-30. More importantly, they tied the season series 1-1 with the Celtics for tiebreaker purposes. The C’s and Hornets meet one final time this season on Wednesday in Boston, which will again have an impact outside of just the standings. The C’s fell into a tie for sixth in the Eastern Conference with the loss, lining up at 32-27 with the Heat. That puts them in danger of play-in territory again.