The Atlanta Hawks saw their season-best five-game winning streak come to a close at home Saturday night against the Charlotte Hornets in a 122-118 loss.
The Hornets, who trailed most of this game, rode a huge second-half that saw them outscore the Hawks, 73-53. Terry Rozier III hit a game-high 7 three’s on his way to 34 points, and Mason Plumlee had a season-high 25 points and chipped in 11 boards for a double-double. P.J. Washington scored 12 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, including a clutch three-pointer to take the lead with 1:32 remaining.
Questionable execution down the stretch, doomed the Hawks, as they looked poised to win their sixth straight. Yet, the team had a chance to win this game as well, following a Clint Capela tip-in with 5.1 seconds remaining in the ball game.
Atlanta held a 118-117 lead, following a Charlotte timeout, which advanced the ball to half-court. Rozier received the inbounds pass and was fouled on a three-point attempt by Hawks rookie, Jalen Johnson. Rozier hit all three free throw’s.
Atlanta had another two chances to have a walk-off victory with 1.1 seconds remaining, but ultimately, failed to do so because they could not inbound the ball resulting in a five-second violation. Trae Young was guarded by Plumlee on the inbounds and had difficulty finding an open teammate on both inbound attempts.
Young, who finished with 25 points and 12 assists, took some bad shots down the stretch in a close game, after he had done a great job of distributing the entire night. A contested 22-foot pull-up and an air ball three-pointer, stagnated the offense when the team needed it most.
De’Andre Hunter had an excellent night shooting 10-16 from the field for 25 points. Dejounte Murray had a team-high 26 points, but finished with -10 plus/minus.
This adds another head-scratching loss for an Atlanta team that seemed to have been playing their best basketball coming into this one. An injury-depleted Charlotte squad somehow found a way to beat Atlanta on the road again for the second time this season.
The Hawks will get a day’s rest before their Monday night match-up against the Chicago Bulls. Tip-off for that one is at 8:00 p.m. eastern from Chicago’s United Center.
