By Matt Rochinski, hornets.com
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Result After putting together a nearly-flawless third quarter to turn a 46-39 deficit into a 76-70 advantage heading to the fourth, the Hornets shooting went cold and they could not hang onto the lead in a 94-92 loss to Atlanta on Nov. 1 at Time Warner Cable Arena. Kemba Walker led four Charlotte starters in double-digit scoring with 17 points in the loss.
Turning Points Riding the momentum of a 37-point third quarter, the Hornets seemed poised to shake off another slow start and grab their first victory of 2015-16 season. Instead, Charlotte missed its first four shots in the fourth before Jeremy Lamb’s three-pointer from the right baseline gave the Hornets a 79-74 cushion with 9:03 remaining. Unfortunately for Charlotte, an offensive drought ensued over the next 6:54 as it misfired on its next 13 field goal attempts and saw the Hawks take an 84-81 lead. But Kemba Walker wouldn’t let the Hornets go away and knocked down the first Charlotte field goal in nearly six minutes when he knocked down a trey from the left side with 2:09 remaining to tie things up, 84-84. The teams would knot the score two more times before Paul Millsap’s three-pointer from the top of the arc pushed Atlanta’s lead to 92-89 with 40.9 ticks on the clock. Following misses from Nicolas Batum and Marvin Williams on Charlotte’s next trip down the court, Kent Bazemore dropped two more Hawks free throws with 14.8 remaining to make it a 94-89 lead. Still, the Hornets refused to fold after Williams banked in a three-pointer, tied up Millsap with 8.7 seconds left to force a jump ball, won the jump ball to Batum, who found Kemba Walker racing down the left side for a chance to tie things up. Unfortunately for the Hornets and the crowd of 18,691 at Time Warner Cable Arena, Walker’s potential game-tying shot was too strong and the Hawks came away with the win.
Inside the Box Score Kemba Walker led four Hornets starters scoring in double digits with 17 points to go with six assists, six rebounds and two steals… Nicolas Batum scored 16 points while loading up the stat sheet with a game-high eight assists and adding five rebounds, two steals and two blocks… Marvin Williams followed with 15 points on a season-high five three-pointers while also adding five boards and a season-best three blocked shots… Al Jefferson recorded his second double-double in three games with 10 points and a team-high 10 rebounds… The Hornets attempted a franchise-record 37 three-point field goals (previously, 33 at Toronto, 4/15/15) and connected on 14 three-pointers, which is the ninth time the team has connected on 14-or-more three-point field goals in a game… Charlotte had 14 three-point field goals and have had 10-or-more in the first two-of-three games this season after only hitting 10-plus three-pointers in nine contests in 2014-15… The Hornets had a 2015-16 team-high 13 blocked shots -Williams had a season-high three blocks, Jeremy Lamb had a season-high two blocks, Jeremy Lin had a season-high two blocks and Nicolas Batum had a season-high two blocks… Charlotte posted a third quarter season-high 37 points after averaging 16.5 points in the first two games of the season. It marks the third time the Hornets have scored 37-or-more points in the third in team history… All 10 Hornets players that saw action logged points
Hornets Player of the Game Nicolas Batum continues to impress for the Hornets as he shows off a multi-dimensional skill set. Batum was second on the team in scoring with 16 points to go with a game-high eight assists, as well as five rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots. He was nearly flawless in the third quarter, leading Charlotte with 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting, including 3-of-5 from long range, and tacking on four assists, three rebounds, two blocks and one steal.
Hawks Player of the Game Al Horford logged his first double-double of the season with 16 points and a game-high 12 rebounds and helped Atlanta to a 44-30 advantage in points in the paint. He also added a game-high-tying three blocked shots.
Game Notes The Hornets are now 13-13 all-time in home openers and tonight’s loss snapped a four-straight home opener winning streak… Troy Daniels (hamstring) was active for the first time this season for Charlotte… Carolina Panthers Head Coach Ron Rivera, Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis and UNC Head Coach Roy Williams were all in attendance.
Next Up The Hornets will take on the Bulls at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3 at Time Warner Cable Arena. The game can be seen on FOX Sports Southeast or heard on WFNZ or on the official Charlotte Hornets mobile app.
