Season Struggles Continue as Hornets Fall to Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks defeated the Charlotte Hornets 123-110 to pick up their fourth straight win. Trae Young led the Hawks with 35 points and 12 assists and shot 21 of 21 from the free-throw line. Miles Bridges had another great night for the Hornets as he scored 31 points and had 11 rebounds. Bridges has been a bright spot for Charlotte during their last five games. The former Michigan State Spartan is averaging 33 points, eight rebounds, and four assists in his last five games. This is the first loss for Charlotte during their four-game road trip.
Bridges continued his hot start for the Hornets by scoring the game's first five points and kickstarting a 15-six run that forced the Hawks to call an early timeout. Charlotte held Atlanta in check early by keeping them out of the paint and spacing the floor against them. The Hawks responded by going on a 22-nine run led by Young. The NBA’s leader in assists had four assists in the quarter and forced some early fouls on the Hornets' guards. Nine Hawks scored in the first quarter as Atlanta took a 30-29 lead into the second.
A scorching hot second quarter saw both teams combine for 42 points, and no team could pull away as Atlanta held a 52-49 lead at halftime. Bridges scored 11 points in the quarter and shot 60 percent from the field in the first half. Atlanta tried to pull away early in the second but could not keep the Hornets off the glass to set up fastbreak opportunities. Mark Williams and Bridges combined for 15 rebounds in the first half, allowing the Hornets to stay in the game. An interesting note for the Hawks was that their bench outscored the Hornets' bench 25-seven in the first half; however, they did not have a double-digit scorer in the first half as Young was held to nine points while shooting 25 percent from the field.
A three-point deficit at halftime turned into a 13-point deficit halfway through the third quarter for the Hornets. Charlotte struggled shooting the ball, and Atlanta’s defense was more aggressive in the third. Dyson Daniels, the NBA’s leader in steals and deflections, made his presence felt by recording three steals in the quarter, and his hustle led to many fastbreak opportunities that the Hawks missed out on in the first half. The Austrailian continued to make his case for Defensive Player of the Year while adding 10 points in the scoring department. Young had 17 points in the quarter and got to the foul line immensely in this quarter. However, the Hornets never stopped fighting and remained in the game thanks to the scoring of Bridges, LaMelo Ball, and DaQuan Jeffries, who had 23 points, 19 points, and 18 points, respectively, as the Hornets headed into the fourth quarter downed 89-78.
The Hornets started the fourth on a seven-zero run that cut the lead to five, and then they never got that close again. The Hawks weathered the storm and took control of the game, thanks to the dominance of Young. The four-time All-Star picked apart the Hornets' defense all night long, and Charlotte did not have an answer for him. The Hornets did have one huge highlight when Ball connected with Bridges for an emphatic alley-oop dunk with four minutes to go in the fourth. However, splash plays were not enough to take down the Hawks. Atlanta forced 10 turnovers in the second half and scored 19 points off of them. Combine that with Young’s dominant performance and the Hornets' drop in their third game to Atlanta this season. The Hornets' next opportunity to get back into the winning column will be on the road against the Spurs on March 14.
