Depending on how the Eastern Conference standings shake out over the final six weeks of the regular season, the Celtics could see Charlotte in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

The Hornets? The franchise that won 19 games a year ago, hasn’t reached the postseason since 2016 and hasn’t won a series since before Kon Knueppel was born? They wouldn’t pose much of a challenge to this impressive Boston squad, right?

Wrong.

Charlotte, coached by former Celtics assistant Charles Lee, has been one of the NBA’s top teams since the start of 2026, and it handed the C’s their most lopsided loss of the season Wednesday night, rolling to a 118-89 victory at TD Garden.

It was the 32-31 Hornets’ 16th win in their last 19 games, during which they’ve vaulted from draft-lottery range up to ninth in the East. The 41-21 Celtics, who sit second in the conference, entered with a 12-2 record in their previous 14 games. Since Jan. 1, the teams rank second and first, respectively, in the NBA in both offensive rating and net rating.

Derrick White was the lone bright spot for Boston, scoring 29 points on 9-of-17 shooting. Jaylen Brown’s 20 points on 7-of-19 shooting were his fewest in a game since Jan. 5. Nikola Vucevic went 2-for-10 in one of the shakiest outings of his brief Celtics tenure, and starters Sam Hauser and Neemias Queta combined for five points on 2-of-8.

Payton Pritchard was held scoreless for the second time in three games, going 0-for-6 and 0-for-5 from three in 24 minutes.

The Hornets got 20 points from Knueppel — Cooper Flagg’s primary challenger for NBA Rookie of the Year — 18 each from LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller, and 17 from Coby White. Collectively, that quartet went 28-for-53 (52.8%), shredding a Celtics defense that came in leading the league in defensive rating since the beginning of February.

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Boston will look to get back on track Friday night against the struggling Dallas Mavericks — potentially with its best player back in the lineup.

Jayson Tatum has yet to confirm when or if he’ll return this season, but the superstar wing appears to be on the verge of a comeback from Achilles surgery. His status for Friday will be revealed when the Celtics release their next injury report Thursday afternoon.

The Celtics missed their first eight field-goal attempts to open Wednesday’s game, and they struggled to find their touch from inside the arc throughout the first quarter. They attempted 10 shots in the paint in the opening period and missed eight of them, including a botched layup by Vucevic and an unsuccessful tip-in by Queta.

Queta was lifted after just 91 seconds and received attention from Celtics trainers on the bench. He later returned, but Boston expanded its frontcourt rotation, giving first-quarter minutes to third center Luka Garza.

White carried the Celtics’ offense early with a pair of 3-pointers and a pair of drawn fouls. Hugo Gonzalez also hit two threes from the corners, one coming immediately after the rookie was on the wrong end of a powerful one-handed dunk by Miller.

But Boston struggled to keep pace with the young, up-tempo Hornets, who did not look fatigued from their home win over Dallas 24 hours earlier. Knueppel proved especially difficult to corral, shaking Celtics defenders around screens while making four of his first five field-goal attempts. Later in the first half, Miller scored 10 points in less than three minutes — including consecutive makes over Baylor Scheierman — to stretch Charlotte’s lead to 21.

Brown gave the Celtics a momentary spark by slamming one home over Moussa Diabate, followed by a Pritchard steal and a Scheierman three in transition. The quick 5-0 run ended there, however, and the Hornets went into halftime up 64-43.

It was one of Boston’s worst halves of the season on both ends. The Celtics shot 32.6%, grabbed offensive rebounds on just six of their 31 misses, did not score a single second-chance point and forced just two turnovers. Charlotte shot 53.5% and 48.0% from deep.

White opened the second half with an interior scoring blitz, converting from inside 10 feet on four straight Celtics possessions and baiting Diabate into a foul beneath the basket. That rally also stalled, as did another that began with a three-shot foul against Brown. Vucevic drained a 3-pointer on the ensuing trip, but Knueppel answered with one of his own.

The Hornets closed the third quarter with a 6-0 run, capping the period with an and-one layup by Coby White over Jordan Walsh. Brown also was assessed a technical foul late in the third for arguing with officials.

Charlotte only added to its lead in the fourth quarter. By the 5:00 mark, most of Boston’s regulars had been shut down for the night. Brown returned for one short stint midway through the fourth, scoring four points to reach 20 for the game.

Garza played the entire final quarter, and Ron Harper Jr. checked in with seven minutes to play. Former Celtics big man Xavier Tillman, who was traded to Charlotte last month, entered for the final 4:36. The 2024 NBA champion also received a tribute video earlier in the game.