CHARLOTTE — The Celtics looked as if they had relented, allowing yet another rather stunning run to the Charlotte Hornets that resulted in a 7-point deficit with just over six minutes left Saturday. It would have been another ghastly loss and perhaps one that would have had ramifications in the postseason.
After being staggered by a 46-20 rally, the Celtics responded with perhaps their most important offensive stretch of the season, led by the struggling Avery Bradley.
Boston ended the game on a 24-10 run, thanks to three 3-pointers by Bradley and a sealing long-range shot from Isaiah Thomas to snap a two-game losing streak and grab a 121-114 win.
The Celtics are now a half-game behind the Cleveland Cavaliers for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference with two games remaining. The Cavaliers may own the tiebreaker, but the Celtics gained some much-needed momentum after being shaken with two poor performances the past four days when they were whipped by Cleveland and Atlanta.
On Saturday at Spectrum Center, the Celtics found themselves trailing, 104-97, with 6:37 left after a Marvin Williams 3-pointer. The Celtics huddled around coach Brad Stevens, who told his players that they’ll face similar adversity in the playoffs and to simply win the game.
The players said they were invigorated.
“At this point in the season, it’s just about figuring out ways to win,’’ Thomas said. “When [Stevens] said that, it was real though. The playoffs are going to be different types of games where you just got to figure out a way to win. [Saturday] was one of those games. They took all the momentum from us. We made a couple of plays on both sides of the floor and got a win.’’
The Celtics rolled up 71 points in the first half, leading by 17 at the break, but they never had an answer for Nicolas Batum, who kept hitting midrange jumpers and 3-pointers as Charlotte chipped away at the deficit. Suddenly, Batum’s teammates began gaining confidence and the scoring barrage was on.
The Hornets went on a stirring 46-20 run, capped by Williams’s sideline 3-pointer. The rather subdued crowd was invigorated and the Celtics watched a comfortable lead against a team with practically no playoff hopes waste away.
Bradley snapped the skid with a 3-pointer that began a 9-0 run. Bradley then added a go-ahead 3-pointer and Thomas scored the next 7 points, including a pull-up 3-ball off the fast break for a 116-111 lead. Thomas led Boston with 32 points, but Bradley’s 15 points (11 in the fourth quarter) were just as critical.
Entering that fourth quarter, Bradley was 9-for-34 shooting since returning from a gastrointestinal issue. He was 4 for 7 in the fourth quarter.
“First of all [Stevens] drawing up a play for me, having that faith in me,’’ Bradley said. “Credit to Brad, he looked at me in my eyes and said, ‘Go knock the shot down and we’re going to be down by 4.’ That confidence he had in me, especially the way I’ve been shooting the ball lately, I needed that confidence and he definitely helped that. It helped me make the other two threes.’’
The Celtics shot 51.7 percent and canned 17 3-pointers and even outrebounded Charlotte, 43-42. Batum finished with 31 points, 19 in the second half. But the Hornets, along with the Pistons, were officially eliminated from playoff contention. The Pacers, Bulls, and Heat are fighting for the final two playoff spots and one of those will likely be the Celtics’ first-round opponent.
The Celtics appeared vulnerable after they allowed 71 first-half points Thursday in losing at Atlanta. On Saturday, the Celtics scored 71 of their own in the first two quarters, then appeared to get lackadaisical, fouling too often and watching as Charlotte methodically sliced into the lead.
“I thought what got us in the third quarter was just kind of taking turns on offense and not really playing with as much purpose as we needed to,’’ Stevens said. “When Batum gets rolling like that, he’s a hard guy to stop. They made a ton of shots. They put us in a corner.
“You want every 17-point lead to stay that way, but very rarely does it. We’re going to face adversity throughout the next few weeks and we have to respond, so that was good.’’
After spending the past few weeks getting punched in the mouth early by hungrier opponents, the Celtics turned in one of their best halves in recent memory, building their 17-point halftime lead on 62.8 percent shooting.
Not only did Thomas score 19 points on just nine shots, Al Horford, whose only made field goal Thursday was thanks to a goaltending, added 14 points on 6-for-9 shooting. Horford even banked in a 3-pointer as the Celtics’ ball movement was superb.
Boston hit 11 3-pointers and actually outrebounded the Hornets, 21-18, after getting dominated against the Hawks. Even Jonas Jerebko, who had been struggling from the field since the All-Star break, connected on a pair of 3-pointers.
But the issue defensively was the combination of Batum and Kemba Walker, who combined for 26 points in the first half and would carry the Hornets in the second half. Luckily for the Celtics, they were able to respond down the stretch, holding the duo to 2-for-7 shooting in the final period.
Gary Washburn can be reached at gwashburn@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GwashburnGlobe.
