Atlanta Takes Care of Business Against The Shorthanded Charlotte Hornets and Sweeps the Season Series

After losing Sunday's game as a favorite on the road in Brooklyn, the Atlanta Hawks wanted to have a strong response and they did just that. The Hawks led wire-to-wire tonight against a Charlotte Hornets team that was missing LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges, winning 134-102.

The Hawks led by 13 at the half but they pulled away from Charlotte with a strong third quarter. Atlanta started the quarter on a 26-8 run and led by 31 points. The Hornets did not have a miracle run in them after that.

The offense for Atlanta was surgical all night long. Trae Young scored 31 points and had eight assists, Dyson Daniels had a near triple-double with 22 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists, and Zaccharie Risacher scored 21 points (including a fantastic 16 point quarter in the third). Atlanta shot 54% from the field and 49% from three in the game. The defense forced Charlotte into 17 turnovers and scored 22 points off of those turnovers. The Hawks averaged 1.35 points per possession tonight and had a 134.5 offensive rating. If you have those kinds of numbers, you are going to win more often than not. With his 30+ point performance and 5-9 mark from three, Young joined LeBron James for having the 8th most games in NBA history with 30+ points and at least five made threes.

This is not any kind of statement win or anything for the Hawks considering the roster that Charlotte had out there, but it was a nice bounce-back win and they took care of business, unlike Sunday vs Brooklyn. Now the Hawks will have three days off before they welcome Stephen Curry and Golden State to State Farm Arena on Saturday night.

The Hawks starters did not change tonight. Trae Young, Dyson Daniels. Zaccharie Risacher, Mouhamed Gueye, and Onyeka Okongwu were the first five on the floor for Atlanta. The Hornets were missing several players and started Damion Baugh, Seth Curry, Josh Green, DaQuan Jeffries, and Mark Williams.

It was a blistering start for the Hawks in the first quarter. Atlanta raced out to a 20-7 lead in the first four minutes, spurred on by 10 points and two rebounds from Onyeka Okongwu. Hornets head coach Charles Lee called a timeout with his team trailing 20-7.

4 threes in 4 minutes 💦💦💦💦 pic.twitter.com/XF3Axndokp
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) March 18, 2025

However, the Hornets matched the Hawks run to get right back in the game. After the timeout, the shots started falling for Charlotte and they went on a 15-4 run to cut the lead to 26-22 and a timeout was called by Hawks head coach Quin Snyder.

Atlanta finished the quarter well and took a 32-25 lead into the second quarter. The Hawks were shooting 50% from the field and 40% (4-10) from three, with Okongwu leading Atlanta with 10 points. Charlotte shot 44% from the field and was 3-9 from three. Jeffries and Curry had eight points each for the Hornets.

The second quarter was exceptional for the Hawks on the offensive end of the court. Atlanta scored 38 points on the Hornets shooting 61% from the field and 55% (6-11) from three. Trae Young had seven points in the quarter while Daniels had seven points and five rebounds. The Hawks were getting anything they wanted on that end of the floor and the Hornets could do nothing to stop them.

TRAE AND-1 HOW 🤯 pic.twitter.com/j0V4SZzPFP
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) March 19, 2025

The thing is though, the Hawks could not really stop the Hornets though. Charlotte scored 32 points in the second quarter but went into halftime trailing Atlanta 70-57. Atlanta's defense was nothing spectacular in the first half, but their offense was close to perfect.

Atlanta put up excellent shooting splits in the first half, shooting 55% from the field and 48% from three. Trae Young had 16 points, Dyson Daniels had 15 points and six rebounds, and Onyeka Okongwu had 15 points and five rebounds. On the other end, Charlotte shot 55% from the field and 40% from three. Jeffries had 15 points for Charlotte, Curry had 13, and Baugh had 11.

The Hawks opened the third quarter on a 9-2 run and all nine points for the Hawks were scored by the rookie Risacher, who started the quarter 3-3 from deep. Atlanta kep their foot on the pedal and extended the early run to 19-6 to lead 89-63. Lee called another timeout and it did not look like his shorthanded team was going to be able to hang around anymore in this game.

ZACCH AGAIN pic.twitter.com/HIhyt9KpZD
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) March 19, 2025

Overall, the Hawks started the quarter outscoring the Hornets 26-8 and that run to start the quarter buried Charlotte. They did pick it up on offense towards the end of the quarter due to Nick Smith Jr Marcus Garrett starting to hit shots, but the Hawks led by 26 points heading into the final quarter. The Hawks were 8-13 from three in the quarter and Risacher scored 16 points in the third. Atlanta led by 24

The game was well over heading into the fourth. Young scored nine points in the final quarter, Atlanta outscored Charlotte 28-22, and the Hawks won the game 134-102.

Additional Links

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

Three Big Takeaways From Atlanta's Embarrassing Loss to Brooklyn

NBA Trade Rumors: Portland Trail Blazers Center Named As Potential Trade Target For Atlanta This Offseason