The Atlanta Hawks escaped with a 107-104 victory over the Charlotte Hornets at the Spectrum Center on Saturday night. Bogdan Bogdanović missed this game due to injury management, so Garrison Mathews and Vít Krejčí returned to the rotation. Charlotte was missing many key players, including LaMelo Ball (calf), Tre Mann (back), Mark Williams (foot), and Miles Bridges (knee). As a result, Brandon Miller got a lot of usage in this game. He shot 10-30 from the field for 32 points.
Neither team took complete control of this game. Atlanta dominated the points in the paint battle, 56-26, but also had 20 turnovers. Charlotte was hot from deep right out of the gate, hitting seven threes in the opening frame and finishing with 18 triples. The Hornets took 16 more field goals than Atlanta but shot just 37%. However, they could not efficiently capitalize on the Hawks’ turnovers. Charlotte collected just 12 points off the Hawks’ miscues. The Hornets only had 15 turnovers, and Atlanta turned those into 21 points.
The Hawks’ halfcourt defense kept them in this game after they allowed 32 opening-quarter points. Neither team found an offensive rhythm to begin the second. The Hawks went scoreless for four minutes, but Charlotte also had a three-minute scoreless stretch. Atlanta finally built a 53-45 lead with a 14-1 run on the backs of four threes from Trae Young, Jalen Johnson, and De’Andre Hunter. The Hawks settled for a 55-50 halftime lead, despite 11 first-half turnovers.
After Atlanta built another 10-point lead in the third, the Hornets went on a 17-5 run to take it right back. The Hawks had 17 turnovers at the 6:35 mark but only committed three more for the rest of the contest. This allowed them to find a better offensive rhythm down the stretch.
With the Hawks up 103-99, Miller knocked down a heavily contested fadeaway three over Dyson Daniels. Charlotte sent Hunter to the line on the next possession, and he hit both free throws to set the 105-102 stage. Miller tried to find the same magic on a tough three with 10 seconds left, but fell short, forcing the Hornets to foul again. Onyeka Okongwu, who finished with a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double, sealed the win at the charity stripe. Hunter scored nine of the final 11 Hawks’ points and finished with 18 (5-9 FG).
Johnson scored 20 points and added nine boards and three blocks, while Zaccharie Risacher dropped 14 with two threes. Clint Capela had a great defensive game, especially in the first half, with 14 rebounds and two blocks. Young only took nine shots for 14 points and five assists.
For Charlotte, Josh Green scored 17 with three steals, and Vasilije Micić had 15 points, eight boards, and five dimes. Nick Richards, who played his first game since Nov. 1, collected 12 points, six rebounds, and three blocks off the bench.
The Hawks’ next contest is on Monday, Dec. 2 when the New Orleans Pelicans visit State Farm Arena. Dejounte Murray returns to Atlanta for the first time since being traded in the offseason.
