BOSTON -- The Charlotte Hornets cannot gain homecourt advantage for the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. They are destined to finish either fifth or sixth regardless of what happens over the next two nights.

But Monday night, a Hornets team that has struggled on the road, put it all together for a 114-100 victory over the Boston Celtics, a team they could meet in the first round.

"It's one of the best games we've played all year, by far the best game we've played in three weeks or so," Hornets coach Steve Clifford said after former Harvard star Jeremy Lin celebrated Asian-American Night at TD Garden with a second-quarter virtuoso performance that led his team to the win.

"Guys put a lot into it," said Clifford, whose team had lost three of its last four on the road.

Lin, who was coming off a game where he missed all six shots from the floor, three of them from behind the arc, scored 19 points, stole the ball four times, grabbed four rebounds and blocked a shot during the Hornets' 31-3 second-quarter run to blow it open. He finished with 25 points, seven rebounds, five assists and five steals.

"I heard the fans. I saw the fans before the game," Lin said. "I heard them when I was out there before the game. I'm thankful, very thankful. It felt like a home game for me. I think it was like Asian night or whatever -- thanks to whoever planned that event."

The Celtics confirmed they held Asian-American Night to coincide with Lin's visit, and he came off the bench in the first quarter and then dominated in the second, when the Celtics went almost eight minutes without a basket.

"We laid an eight-minute egg at the end of the second quarter, and just couldn't overcome," said Celtics coach Brad Stevens. "... Offense was bad, defense was bad, everything was poor, but that's what it boiled down to."

Even with the win, the Hornets are locked into either the fifth or sixth spot in the conference. The Celtics were eliminated for No. 3 and will finish either fourth, fifth or sixth. Finishing sixth provides the chance to miss the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round.

Lin, who came in averaging 11.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game, led the way in handing the Celtics, losers of their last two games, only their third loss in their last 21 home games. Boston hosts the Miami Heat, also involved in this mix, in the regular-season finale on Wednesday night.

The Hornets, who went 14-of-32 on 3-pointers, led by as many as 28 points in the third quarter and by 22 at the end of three. The Celtics caught fire in the first half of the fourth quarter, chopping the lead down to 15. But they failed to get any closer.

The only down note for the Hornets was the loss of Nicolas Batum to a left ankle sprain early in the third quarter -- never good news with the playoffs coming.

Kemba Walker scored 18 points and dished out six assists in the win, while former Celtic Al Jefferson, making his first start since Nov. 29 with Cody Zeller injured, had 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Marvin Williams also scored 16 points.

Isaiah Thomas and Avery Bradley scored 17 points apiece, Evan Turner added 15 and Kelly Olynyk had 14 points and 11 rebounds for Boston. Rookie R.J. Hunter scored all 11 of his points in the fourth quarter.

"It was an eight-minute -- we laid an eight-minute egg," repeated Stevens. "That's the way I look at it. That's enough against those guys when they're shooting like that, to really hurt you."

There were runs by both teams in the first quarter -- the Hornets with nine straight points, then the Celtics with seven -- but it was nothing compared to what was coming from the visitors in the second quarter.

The Celtics were 1-of-15 from the floor and turned the ball over six times during the Charlotte run.

"We just have to prepare and try to fix all the mistakes that we had tonight," said Bradley. "In the playoffs, we make these same mistakes we might lose by 40."

NOTES: With C Cody Zeller out with a bruised sternum, former Celtic Al Jefferson made his first start since Nov. 29 for the Hornets. Zeller had made 32 straight starts and the hope is he can return for the regular-season finale against the Orlando Magic. ... The Celtics brought G/F John Holland, a former Boston University star, up from the D-League after he averaged 28.5 points per game for the Canton Charge against the Celtics' Maine Red Claws, but he didn't dress. ... Former UConn coach Jim Calhoun visited former Huskie Kemba Walker and Charlotte coach Steve Clifford after the game. ... Boston F Jae Crowder, sick over the weekend, was able to play, but had only two points in 21:12.