By Sam Perley, hornets.com
Result A rough start compounded with some early shooting woes prevented the Hornets from finishing their six-game road trip with a victory as they fell to the Hawks, 87-76, on Sunday, Feb. 28, in Atlanta. Despite scoring a NBA season-low nine points in the opening frame, Charlotte put together a steady comeback over the next three quarters but it wasn’enough as Atlanta claimed the season series against the visiting Hornets, 3-1. Marvin Williams shined against his former squad with a game-high 16 points while Kent Bazemore led five Hawks in double figures with a team-high 14 points.
Turning Points Atlanta got things going quickly by opening the game on a 16-4 run before a Hornets timeout at the 3:59 mark. It didn’t get any easier for Charlotte after that as the Hawks cruised into the first intermission with a commanding 25-9 lead after connecting on 11-of-20 field-goal attempts during the frame (55.0 percent). The Hornets couldn’t get anything to fall as they managed to hit just 2-of-21 shots (9.5 percent) leading to a season low for points in any quarter. Charlotte was able to get it together over the course of the game, eventually cutting the Hawks’ lead down to two midway through the fourth but ultimately couldn’t overcome the shaky start as it lost for the fourth-consecutive time at Phillips Arena.
Inside the Box Score Marvin Williams led Charlotte in both scoring (16 points) and rebounding (nine)… Jeremy Lin was the only other Hornet to score in double figures with 15 points off the bench… Kemba Walker notched nine points, six rebounds and a team-high five assists… Courtney Lee and Jeremy Lamb each finished with nine points… Cody Zeller and Al Jefferson each tallied six points and seven rebounds… Kent Bazemore knocked down 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting to go along with six rebounds and three assists for Atlanta… Paul Millsap and Al Horford each finished with 13 points… Horford also added a game-high 16 rebounds for his 12th double-double of the season…. Jeff Teague finished just shy of a double-double with 10 points and a game-high nine assists… Tim Hardaway Jr. also scored in double digits with 11 points off the bench… The Hornets knocked down 15-of-23 free-throw attempts (65.2 percent) while Atlanta made just 3-of-5 shots from the charity stripe (60.0 percent)… Charlotte connected on 7-of-32 three-point attempts (21.9 percent) while the Hawks hit 8-of-17 from long distance (47.1 percent)… With the seven made three-pointers, Charlotte brought its yearly total up to 597, which breaks the single-season franchise record set during the 1996-97 NBA campaign (591).
Hornets Player of the Game For the second-consecutive game, Marvin Williams led the Hornets in both scoring (16 points) and rebounding (nine), coming up just short of his team-high 11th double-double of the season. Williams also knocked down four three-pointers during the game to push his yearly total to 103, making him the seventh different forward to make 100-or-more three-pointers in a single season in franchise history.
Hawks Player of the GameAl Horford put together a dominant performance for the hometown Hawks, leading the way with 13 points, a game-high and season-high-tying 16 rebounds and six assists in the win. This was the 200th double-double of Horford’s career, making him the ninth player in franchise history to reach this mark.
Game NotesSpencer Hawes sat out for Charlotte (back)… Charlotte’s previous low for points in any quarter was 12, which was set in the fourth quarter against Toronto on Jan. 1… Following this six-game road trip, the Hornets will play 10 of their next 12 contests in Charlotte.
Next UpThe Hornets return home to take on the Phoenix Suns at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 1 in Charlotte. This game can be seen on FOX Sports Southeast or heard on WFNZ or on the official Charlotte Hornets mobile app.
