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BOSTON -- The Boston Celtics took their defense from solid in the first half to stifling in the second.Isaiah Thomas scored 16 of his 26 points after halftime and Al Horford had 18 points and five blocked shots as Boston beat the Charlotte Hornets 96-88 on Friday night to stop a three-game slide.Coach just told us we needed to step up our level of energy a little more on the defensive end, Horford said. We did that and that was the big difference.Getting Thomas back after he missed four straight games with a groin strain didnt hurt, either.Thomas scored nine in the third quarter as the Celtics fought back from a 12-point deficit. He added seven in the fourth to help Boston put away the Hornets.We got stops and got running, Thomas said. The one thing we did in the fourth quarter is we just spaced the floor and made plays for each other. Guys hit big shots.Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder added 12 points apiece for the Celtics, who held the Hornets to 13 field goals in the second half.Charlotte played without leading scorer Kemba Walker, who did not travel with the team due to personal reasons, and lost its fourth straight.Although the Hornets outrebounded Boston 54-46, the Celtics outscored them 38-30 in the paint as Charlotte had trouble converting inside.We have to finish some of these plays, coach Steve Clifford said. You get these point-blank ones and you dont have the floor balance in there back the other way. There were two or three of those that were huge plays.Nicolas Batum led the Hornets with 22 points and 10 rebounds.Ramon Sessions had 13 points and six assists, Marco Belinelli scored 11 and Jeremy Lamb added 10 points for the Hornets.Crowder hit a 3 with 6:11 left to put Boston up 80-79 after Charlotte scored seven straight points. Thomas drew a flagrant foul by Belinelli and hit both free throws. Boston retained possession because of the flagrant, and Crowder drew another foul and added two more free throws to put Boston ahead 84-79.Cody Zeller missed from inside for Charlotte, and Thomas came back with a 3-pointer to make it 87-79 with 4:52 left. Charlotte turned it over right away after the inbounds play and Bradley added another 3 that gave Boston a 90-79 cushion with 4:24 to go.After a basket by Belinelli with 6:32 left completed their 7-0 run, the Hornets went scoreless until his layup with 2:20 remaining cut it to 92-81.Boston held Charlotte to five field goals in the third quarter, when the Hornets were 5 of 23.Charlotte closed the second on a 14-4 run and took a 50-41 lead into halftime. The Hornets led 60-48 early in the third when the Celtics started their surge. Kelly Olynyk hit a 3-pointer to tie it at 62 with 3:57 left, and it was tied 69-all at the end of the third.MISSING KEMBASessions started for Walker and had six assists, but the Hornets offense appeared lost without Walker.Hes one of the best in the league, so we missed him a lot tonight, Batum said. We played better tonight overall. But we should have won that game, anyway. No excuses.COLD OUTSIDEAfter shooting 2 of 14 from beyond the arc in the first half, the Celtics started hitting from outside in the third period. They went 7 of 14 on 3-pointers in the second half and held Charlotte to 19 points in each of the final two quarters.WELCOME BACKThomas hadnt played since scoring 20 points against Houston on Dec. 5. The Celtics went 1/3 in the games he missed and were happy to have him leading the offense once again.It helps all of us just because it opens the floor even more. Teams have to play us a little more honest, said Horford, who also had eight rebounds, five assists and two steals. Its just good to have him back.TIP-INSHornets: Walker is averaging 22.6 points per game. He missed his first game this season, but was expected to return when the Hornets visit Atlanta on Saturday night. Walkers absence made Belinelli and Sessions the only Charlotte players to appear in all 27 games this season.Celtics: Jonas Jerebko scored nine points to lead Bostons reserves.UP NEXTHornets: At the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night.Celtics: At the Miami Heat on Sunday night. What are the best fake yeezys under $100 . -- San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks was fined $15,570 by the NFL on Wednesday for his hit on Saints quarterback Drew Brees last Sunday. Real Yeezy Boost Cheap . The parade and rally were held to celebrate the Saskatchewan Roughriders 45-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Sunday in the CFLs championship game. http://www.fakeyeezyshop.com/ . -- In one brief spurt, Brazil turned a close game into a rout and proved again it will be a strong World Cup favourite. Fake Yeezy For Sale .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres have placed centre Cody Hodgson on injured reserve and recalled two players from their AHL affiliate in Rochester. Yeezys vs. Fake Yeezys . The defending champion beat Gael Monfils of France 7-6 (6), 6-3, while second-seeded Andy Murray of Britain dispatched Edouard Roger-Vasselin, also of France, 6-3, 6-3. Making his first appearance since injuring his wrist a month ago, Del Potro had difficulty with his service games in the first set. MIAMI -- Only one thing remains to make this a great Florida trip for the Los Angeles Clippers: beating the Miami Heat on Friday night.Already the trip includes two highlights.On Tuesday night, Clippers guard Austin Rivers had his No. 25 high school jersey retired at Winter Park, Fla., which is in the Orlando area.Better yet, the entire Clippers team was there. They flew in from Los Angeles late Monday night/early Tuesday morning. They arrived in Orlando at 6 p.m., but their bus got a flat tire on the way to Winter Park High.The 20 Clippers representatives in the bus -- including Los Angeles coach and Austins father, Doc Rivers -- then called several Ubers to make sure they got to the gym on time for the 7:30 tip, which they did.Rivers became just the second athlete to have a jersey retired in the Winter Park gym -- the first was his sister Callie, who won three state titles in volleyball.Im so appreciative of everyone who came out, Austin Rivers said. Im very grateful.Rivers was also grateful that he passed a concussion test after missing the Clippers game Monday due to that issue.He not only passed the test, but he also proved he was in fine form by scoring a team-high and season-high 25 points Wednesday in a 113-108 win over the Orlando Magic. He matched a career high by making seven 3-pointers, converting on 7 of 10 from long distance.Now comes the last part of what could be a great Clippers trip to the Sunshine State, and beating the Heat (9-17) is not the arduous assignment it used to be.However, Miami won its past two games and is feeling a bit better about itself as a team. Heat center Hassan Whiteside -- never lacking for confidence -- felt empowered to take some shots at Clippers center DeAndre Jordan on Thursday.No, Whiteside said when asked whether his game and Jordans are similar. He catches lobs. I shoot jumpers, catch lobs, block shots. I do a lot. He just catches lobs.Keep in mind, Jordan last season was a first-team All-NBA player. On Wednesday, Jordan became the all-time Clippers leader in blocked shots.ddddddddddddWhiteside doesnt care about that and doesnt give Jordan much credit, either.(Jordans) got CP3 as a point guard -- a great North Carolina point guard, Id like to add, Whiteside said.Translation: Jordan is made to look good because he has Chris Paul, a nine-time NBA All-Star, throwing him easy passes at the rim.The Clippers (19-7) won both meetings with the Heat last season. Jordan missed the first matchup, and Whiteside played in a reserve role, averaging just 22 minutes in those two games.This time, Whiteside is the focal point of the Heats plans. He is not only a starter but also has a four-year, $98 million contract as tangible prove of his value.The tale of the tape between the big men shows a lot of similarities.Whiteside, a 27-year-old from North Carolina, is 7 feet, 265 pounds. He shoots 53.7 percent on free throws.Jordan, a 28-year-old native of Texas, is 6-11, 265 pounds. He shoots 54.1 percent on free throws.Both men entered the league as second-round picks. Jordan was the 35th overall pick in 2008. Whiteside was picked 33rd in 2010.There are significant differences, however: Jordan has spent his entire career with the Clippers while Whiteside has played with 10 teams, most of them in leagues other than the NBA.Despite the relatively late start to finding his niche, Whiteside has better numbers than Jordan this season in a few key areas, averaging 17.6 points, 14.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. Jordan is averaging 11.7 points, 12.6 rebounds and 1.8 blocksHowever, Jordan shoots 65 percent from the floor. Whiteside, who has indeed expanded his game beyond dunks, shoots 54.2 percent from the floor.In other storylines regarding Fridays game:--Clippers forward Luc Mbah a Moute missed the Wednesday game due to a sore shoulder. It was his first missed game of the season.--Heat guard Tyler Johnson missed practice Thursday due to an unspecified illness. ' ' '