The Charlotte Hornets beat the Atlanta Hawks, 116-106 on Wednesday, giving them their third straight win.
The Hornets came into Wednesday night’s action a half-game behind Trae Young and the ninth-place Hawks in the Eastern Conference, but leaped-frogged ahead of their division foes to get back to .500 on the season.
The Hornets got off to a great start from the field, knocking down seven of their first eleven shot attempts, including nine early points from Miles Bridges. That soon gave way to some careless basketball by the Hornets. They turned the ball over multiple times, had some defensive lapses, which led to some easy looks for Atlanta and lost uncontested defensive boards out of bounds. The Hornets were able to mask the turnovers and bad defense with good shooting. A Bridges pull-up three-pointer at the buzzer, gave him 12 points for the quarter. At the end of the first quarter, the Hornets trailed by four, 33-29.
Montrezl Harrell went right to work early in the second quarter, scoring seven quick points to help the Hornets regain the lead. The Hawks answered back with a barrage of three-pointers, mostly from the wing, to put some separation between themselves and the Hornets. LaMelo Ball became aggressive and scored five points down the stretch of the first half to bring the Hornets within five going into the half, 67-62.
Mason Plumlee started the third quarter with a Kareem Abdul-Jabbar patented sky hook and a couple of big dunks. The teams exchanged baskets for most of the period. The Hawks lead fluctuated between two and six. Harrell followed up a couple of Hornets missed shots with offensive rebounds and made his way to the free throw line for a pair of free throws to give the Hornets the lead. The Hawks knotted the game at 85, heading into the final stanza.
The Hawks and the Hornets entered the fourth quarter tied at 85 in a game where neither team led by more than eight points through the first three quarters. The Hornets went on a 6-0 run to start the quarter, but the Hawks responded quickly. The teams continued to go back and forth, but they struggled to score. The Hawks got open looks, but could not cash in, while the Hornets played anxiously on the offensive end.
P.J. Washington ignited the Hornets offense with a layup around Hawks defensive anchor Clint Capella and a tough three-pointer. Terry Rozier connected on an off-balance shot from downtown to beat the shot clock and give the Hornets a 105-98 lead, with just over three minutes remaining in the contest. Washington then scored on a three-point play off a pick-and-roll pass from Ball, to give Charlotte a double-digit lead. Washington drilled another three to push the lead to 11 and then got free for a dunk off an assist from Bridges. Ball put the nails in the coffin with a deep three as the Hawks let the clock expire.
Said Hornets coach James Borrego: “We used our length, size and physicality and we made it tough on Trae. He is a heck of a player and getting him out of the pick and roll, we went through probably three or four iterations tonight to make him think on the fly.”
Ball had a near triple-double with 22 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds for the Hornets. Harrell scored 20 points and had six boards off the bench. Bridges finished with 18 points, six rebounds, six assists and two blocks. Rozier also scored 18 points, with three rebounds, two assists and three steals. Washington contributed 16 points, one rebound, three assists, three steals and one block.
DeAndre Hunter led the Hawks with 21 points. He also had three rebounds and two assists. Capella had a double-double with 17 points, 15 rebounds, one assist and one steal. Kevin Huerter scored 16 points, had seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. Onyeka Okongwu contributed 14 points, five rebounds and one assist off the bench. Trae Young had 15 assists, but was held to a season-low nine points on 3-of-12 from the floor.
The Hawks host Ja Morrant and the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday. The Hornets host Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday.
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