Jarrett Jack put on a show in his return to action, scoring 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting and totaling eight assists and four rebounds as the new-look New Orleans Hornets cruised past the Boston Celtics, 97-78, on Wednesday night at New Orleans Arena.
Boston is off to an 0-3 start, the worst mark through three games of the Big Three Era. The Celtics made 29-of-77 field goals to shoot 37.7 percent and finished with 37 rebounds, 16 assists, five steals and 12 turnovers in the loss. New Orleans shot 45.6 percent on 36-of-79 shooting and collected 48 rebounds, 16 assists, seven steals and 10 turnovers.
Ray Allen led the Celtics with 15 points and also had three assists. Rajon Rondo scored 13 points and had six assists, Brandon Bass scored 11 points off the bench and Keyon Dooling was once again effective, scoring 10 points. Kevin Garnett finished with eight points and seven rebounds while rookie Greg Stiemsma had a terrific night with two points, six blocks and four rebounds for Boston.
New Orleans (2-0) had five players reach double-digit scoring, led by Jack. Carl Landry added 20 points and 11 rebounds, Emeka Okafor and Marco Belinelli each scored 13 points and Chris Kaman added 12 points and nine rebounds.
Boston hosts the Detroit Pistons in search of its first win in the home opener on Friday.
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