The Charlotte Hornets beat the Atlanta Hawks 115-114 on Wednesday night in the final regular season game at State Farm Arena. Trae Young played his first game since Feb. 23 due to finger ligament surgery, but Dejounte Murray, Jalen Johnson and De’Andre Hunter missed the action tonight. Quin Snyder rested most of his main players in the fourth quarter, giving the reserves a chance to see some game action late in the season.
Charlotte’s offense came out hot, hitting five of their first six shots. Miles Bridges knocked down back-to-back three’s to give the Hornets a 14-8 advantage. Atlanta responded immediately with an 8-0 run to take back the lead. Snyder used an early challenge on a Bruno Fernando blocking foul on Brandon Miller, but it was unsuccessful. With the Hawks missing their two starting wings, Dylan Windler and Mouhamed Gueye saw extended opportunities. Gueye knocked down a triple for his first NBA bucket to tie the game at 26. Atlanta generated quality looks from downtown throughout the opening frame, as it took a 35-30 lead into the second quarter.
Charlotte gave the Hawks a taste of their own medicine with the three-point shot to start the next frame. Miller knocked down two triples, and Davis Bertans added one of his own. However, Windler countered with two deep threes to keep Atlanta in the driver’s seat. In an exciting sequence, Gueye tracked down Tre Mann for a strong chase-down block, but shortly after, Miller rocked the rim for a posterizing slam over Fernando. After a strong offensive start, neither team scored for close to two minutes. Charlotte blitzed Young on the pick-and-roll to force the ball out of his hands throughout the first half. Vít Krejčí almost made a buzzer-beating three but the referees ruled it came after the clock expired. Atlanta took a 61-55 lead into the locker room led by Krejčí’s 11 points. Miller was the high man for Charlotte with 14 points. The Hawks shot 10-24 from downtown, while the Hornets made eight of their 20 triples.
Atlanta came out of the locker room firing on all cylinders. Young chased in a three for the Hawks’ biggest lead during a 12-3 run that extended their advantage to 73-58. Bogdan Bogdanović hit two consecutive triples, and the first one broke the single-season franchise record of threes made with 234. He also showed off his playmaking ability, throwing two perfect lobs off curl screens to Clint Capela who slammed them home. Atlanta collected 30 assists through the first three quarters, won the frame 31-22 and led 92-77 heading into the fourth.
The Hornets hurt the Hawks from downtown to begin the last quarter. Miller and Grant Williams hit consecutive threes, and shortly after, Mann and Bertans went back-to-back from three-point territory. Charlotte started the frame on a 13-5 run to cut the Hawks’ lead to 97-90. Snyder pulled most of the starters to start the frame, closing with a lineup of Kobe Bufkin, Windler, Trent Forrest, Fernando and Krejčí. Atlanta struggled to generate consistent offense with this group, but Krejčí broke a scoring drought with two consecutive triples. Forrest scored six straight points in the paint to put the Hawks up 114-113. However, Fernando missed a good look at the rim, and Bridges raced down the floor for a layup to give the Hornets a one-point lead. On the last possession, Charlotte blocked Forrest’s potential game-winning mid-range jumper.
Young shot a perfect 5-5 from the field for 14 points and 11 assists in 21 minutes in his return to action. Krejčí dropped 19 points on 8-14 FG, and Bogdanović made five of his 10 triples for 19 points and eight assists. Capela added 15 points, while Bufkin and Windler scored 11 and 12 points off the bench, respectively.
Miller led the way for the Hornets with 27 points on 9-17 shooting. Bridges totaled 18 points, and Williams scored 16. Mann filled up the stat sheet with 16 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
This was the final home game for the Hawks this season, and they only have two games left before the play-in. Atlanta’s penultimate contest takes place on Friday night at the Target Center against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
