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Hornets Go Ice Cold from Three, Fall to Hawks

The Hornets move to 26-21 on the season.
Schuyler Callihan|
Hornets Go Ice Cold from Three, Fall to Hawks
Hornets Go Ice Cold from Three, Fall to Hawks

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Shooting the three ball has become a speciality for this Charlotte Hornets team but on Sunday night, it was their worst enemy in a 113-91 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. They missed their first 19 shots from three-point land and finished the night 4/36 (11%) from deep.

Despite shooting 43% in the first quarter, the Hornets really struggled offensively to get good looks. When they did, they couldn't get anything to fall unless it was a dunk. Miles Bridges hit a deep two to start the game but they would go on to miss their next seven shots from the field (not including dunks). Charlotte did have some success in the paint (16 points in the 1st quarter) but much of that came in transition, leading to some breakaway opportunities including a pair of alley-oops from Miles Bridges and Mason Plumlee.

In the first eight minutes of the game, Charlotte had 14 points, ten of which came via dunks, two from the charity stripe, and the two that Bridges kicked things off with.

 Those struggles carried over into the second quarter where James Borrego was constantly searching for answers at the point, even inserting the rookie James Bouknight. LaMelo Ball had three turnovers and Ish Smith made a couple of bad decisions with his shot selection. Shortly after entering the game, Bouknight missed everything on a three-point attempt going wide-left and a bit too short. At about the five and a half minute mark, Ball re-entered the game and immediately turned it over, marking his fourth of the game. 

Fortunately for Charlotte, the Hawks had a few dry spells themselves, most notably in the first six minutes of the second when both teams combined for ten points. The Hornets have been one of the NBA's best three-point shooting teams this season shooting at a 37.4% clip, however, they went 0/16 from deep in the first half. With the deep ball not falling and Gordon Hayward (foot) out of the lineup, it really limited what they could do from mid-range and beyond. The Hawks took a 55-44 lead into the locker room.

Trae Young was red hot coming out of the half burying three threes, helping the Hawks to score 20 of the first 29 points in the quarter. Borrego called a timeout down 22 and it led to a mini surge from the Hornets going on an 8-0 run with two threes from P.J. Washington. The Hawks regrouped out of a timeout from Nate McMillan and scored a quick five points with a bucket inside from John Collins and then a three from Delon Wright off a Charlotte turnover on the inbound. Atlanta kept about a 15-17-point stiff arm on the Hornets from that point on, picking up their 21st win of the season.

The Hornets will hit the road and play their next game in Toronto against the Raptors on Tuesday. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. EST.

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Schuyler Callihan
SCHUYLER CALLIHAN

Schuyler Callihan is the publisher of West Virginia On SI and has been a trusted source covering the Mountaineers since 2016. He is the host of Between The Eers, The Walk Thru Game Day Show, and In the Gun Podcast. The Wheeling, WV native moved to Charlotte, North Carolina in 2020 to cover the Charlotte Hornets and Carolina Panthers.

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