Trae Young Scores 35 and Atlanta's Bench Dominates Charlotte For Hawks Fourth Straight Victory

The Hawks defeated Charlotte and won their fourth straight game tonight to move to 32-34 overall

Mar 12, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) shoots at the line against the Charlotte Hornets during the first quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mady Mertens-Imagn Images / Mady Mertens-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Hawks continued their homestand tonight with a Southeast Division matchup against the Charlotte Hornets and they were looking to extend their winning streak to four games. A career night from the free throw line for Trae Young and 67 points from the bench got the Hawks the win in what was not the prettiest game.

Young had a hard time getting his shot to go down (7-20 from the field), but was a perfect 21-21 from the free throw line. The 21 attempts for Young were a career high and also more than the entire Hornets team had tonight. While no other Hawk had more than 15 points, the bench for the Hawks had a dominant night vs the Hornets. The bench scored 57 points tonight compared to just 18 points from the Hornets bench. Caris LeVert scored 15 points to lead the way for the bench unit and of the five players off the bench, only one (Dominick Barlow, who had nine points) failed to score in double-digits. It was a strong night from the Hawks bench, which has become a strength of the team.

The Hawks defense was strong tonight as well, forcing 21 turnovers, which head coach Quin Snyder praised after the game.

Quin Snyder on the team forcing 21 turnovers vs Charlotte pic.twitter.com/YWKH2SgOTp

— jackson caudell (@jacksoncaudell) March 13, 2025

Miles Bridges led the Hornets with 31 points, LaMelo Ball scored 25 (6-21 shooting), and DaQuan Jeffries scored 20.

Atlanta now moves to 32-34 and with the Heat losing to the Clippers, they continue to improve their standing in the Eastern Conference for the playoffs. Speaking of the Clippers, the Hawks will host them in what will be the first game back in Atlanta for Bogdan Bogdanovic.

The Hawks starting lineup did not change tonight. Trae Young, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, Mouhamed Gueye, and Onyeka Okongwu were the first five on the floor. Charlotte started LaMelo Ball, Josh Green, DaQuan Jeffries, Miles Bridges, and Mark Williams.

It was not a great start on the defensive end of the floor for Atlanta. The Hornets hit six of their first ten shots and led 15-9 with 7:35 left in the opening quarter. Both offenses would slow down though and that would carry on for the rest of the first half, with turnovers being a key component in that.

Both teams are led by star point guards and both LaMelo Ball (nine points, two assists) and Trae Young (six points, four assists) were having success early. The Hawks led the Hornets 30-29 at the end of the first quarter, despite five turnovers. Atlanta was shooting 52% from the field in the opening quarter, but lazy turnovers prevented it from being better. Charlotte shot 46% from the field, but had six turnovers.

Neither offense improved in the second quarter. The biggest development being that Miles Bridges was starting to find his groove for the Hornets. After only scoring five points in the opening quarter, Bridges shot 4-6 from the field (2-2 from three) and scored 11 points. The Hawks were 3-10 from three and shot 32% Overall in the second quarter. Both teams combined for 42 points in the quarter and Atlanta led 52-49 going into the break.

At the half, the shooting splits were very similar. Atlanta was shooting 41% from the field and 33% from three, with eight turnovers. Charlotte was shooting 42% from the field and 43% from three, along with 11 turnovers. Young led the Hawks with nine points and six assists, while Bridges had 16 points and eight rebounds for the Hornets. The Hawks bench outscored Charlotte's 25-7.

After slogging through the second quarter, the Hawks opened the third on an 11-0 run.

That run was a sign of things to come and Atlanta stayed comfortably ahead in the third. The Hawks used 17 points from Trae Young and their free throw shooting to take an 11-point lead over the Hornets into the third quarter. Atlanta went 11-13 from the line, while Charlotte did not attempt a single free throw.

The Hornets did shoot the ball much better in the 3rd then the 2nd quarter. They were 50% from three, led by a 3-3 mark from DaQuan Jeffries. The problem once again for Charlotte was turnovers, committing seven in the quarter.

Terance hit the 🤏 twice for emphasis 😂 pic.twitter.com/PylVpvUEVU

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) March 13, 2025

Charlotte did not go away quietly though. They opened up the quarter on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to four points and the pressure was on Atlanta to not give up the lead. They got five quick points from Vit Krejci, who was only in his second game back from a long injury absence.

Charlotte had the lead cut down to seven points with under five minutes to go, but back-to-back threes from Caris LeVert and Georges Niang pushed the lead back to 13 with 4:51 left in the game.

After those threes, the Hornets could not get within striking distance to make a run in the game. Atlanta kept the Hornets at bay and won the game 123-110. This is the fourth straight win for Atlanta and they are continuing to build momentum over the last part of the season as the playoffs draw near. They will host the Clippers on Friday to conclude their long homestand and go for their fifth straight win.

Additional Links

Hawks vs Hornets: Game Preview, Injury Report, Projected Starting Lineups For Tonight's Game

Should the Atlanta Hawks Re-Sign Caris LeVert After This Season?

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