Kyrie Irving was critical of the Boston Celtics' defense following their 124-117 loss to the Charlotte Hornets. The Hornets came back after being down 112-94 with over 8 minutes left in the game.

Kemba Walker scored 18 of his 36 points in the 4th quarter.

"Down the stretch, try to come in and help as much as possible. We should have probably trapped him a little bit more, like every team does in the league. But we didn't. Torches us every time we play him. So it's no surprise," said Irving.

The Celtics scored just twice in their final 20 possessions.

"This game was over in the beginning of the fourth quarter. We took our foot off the gas pedal, got it to a five-point game and momentum shifted from there," he added.