RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

CHARLOTTE (AP) _ Derrick Coleman had 24 points and 11 rebounds as the Charlotte Hornets won their fourth straight game Saturday with a 110-96 victory over the Boston Celtics in front of a very sparse crowd.

Only about 2,000 fans were in the building because of a storm that dropped several inches of snow on the Charlotte area.

With the victory, the Hornets denied Boston its first five-game winning streak since the 1994-95 season.

Eddie Jones added 18 points, and Anthony Mason had seven points, 11 rebounds and eight assists before being ejected for two technical fouls with 1:14 remaining.

Vitaly Potapenko led Boston with 18 points.

Charlotte took an 83-71 lead into the final quarter after two free throws by Mason with 5.9 seconds left in the third period. Boston guard Kenny Anderson was called for a technical between free throws for protesting the foul.

Anderson trimmed the lead to 93-85 with two free throws with 5:24 remaining, but Coleman responded with a layup, a 3-pointer and a three-point play in an 11-4 Charlotte run.

The Hornets took the lead for good at 16-13 on Jones' 3-pointer with 4:30 left in the first quarter. They led 28-19 at the end of the quarter, with Coleman getting nine points and seven rebounds.

Charlotte stretched the lead to 58-43 at halftime. The second quarter was highlighted by an alley-oop pass from rookie guard Baron Davis to Ricky Davis, whose reverse dunk capped a 9-0 run and gave the Hornets a 41-27 advantage.

Backup center Brad Miller, who was averaging 7.9 points a game, had nine of his 11 first-half points in the second quarter. Miller, who scored a career-high 32 points in last season's finale against the Celtics, finished with 16 points and seven rebounds.

Notes: Hornets forward Dale Ellis, acquired in a trade with Milwaukee on Wednesday, still doesn't have his bearings around Charlotte Coliseum. He mistakenly went to the visitors locker room after pre-game warm-ups.... The bus that brought the Celtics to the coliseum had some trouble making it up a hill near the arena because of the snow but arrived safely. ... Jones has at least one steal in 25 straight games. ... The Hornets' next game is against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday. Charlotte has won eight straight against the Kings at home.