Celtics' Thomas might return for game against Hornets

BOSTON -- Back on Oct. 29, the Boston Celtics scored a 104-98 victory over the Hornets in Charlotte.

Isaiah Thomas had 24 points and seven assists in the win, while Kemba Walker delivered 29 points in the loss.

Friday night, the teams face each other for the first time since -- and there is a chance neither will play in the rematch at TD Garden.

While Thomas, who leads Boston with 26 points and 6.2 assists per games, hopes to return from a four-game absence with a groin strain, word came down Thursday that Walker and his 22.6 points and 5.2 assists will sit this one out because of a personal issue. He will rejoin the team for the game in Atlanta Saturday night for the final game of a five-game road trip.

Both teams lost on the road Wednesday night, the Celtics dropping their third in a row in a loss at San Antonio and the Hornets, the only team over .500 in the Southeast Division, losing in Washington.

The Celtics won their first game without Thomas, beating the Orlando Magic on the road. The Magic were just coming off a successful road trip and were flat in that game. Boston moved the ball around and surprised people with smoothness and ease without Thomas -- one local talk show host even saying they were better off without their Little Big Man.

But reality soon reared its ugly head in a home loss to the Toronto Raptors and a two-game road whiff at Oklahoma City and San Antonio -- losses to three teams with a combined 53-23 record through Wednesday's games.

"We're still trying to figure it out," Boston's Jae Crowder said after Wednesday's loss that dropped the Celtics to 13-12 on the season. "Haven't got there yet, obviously, and it shows in games like this. From top to bottom, we just haven't figured it out."

The hope is they'll have Thomas back for this one.

The Hornets have also lost three straight to fall to 14-12. They didn't play well in Washington, and their coach, Steve Clifford, wasn't happy.

"The game came down to physical play," Clifford said. "If guys aren't willing to be more physical, we'll be an up-and-down team, we'll struggle to make the playoffs.

"If we want to play with the physicality we choose to at times, we have a chance to be a good team."

The Hornets averaged the second-fewest turnovers in the league at 11.8 per game before Wednesday, but coughed it up 18 times in the loss to the Wizards.

Ramon Sessions will get his first start as a Hornet, starting for the first time since he played for the injured John Wall in Washington last season.

"This is my 10th year in the league and I've been thrown in these situations a lot," Sessions told the Charlotte Observer Thursday. "Just take in the flow of the game. Get guys their shots and be aggressive, also, with the extended minutes.

"Starting or not starting, there's not that much difference. Just play my game."

Thomas was 9 for 20 from the floor, including 2 for 7 from 3-point range, in the first meeting, finishing a plus-14. Walker was more efficient, going 10 for 16, including 4 for 8 from long range, but was a minus-18.