By Sam Perley, hornets.com
A handful of big shots down the stretch helped the Charlotte Hornets finish their five-game road trip with a much-needed win as they took down the Hawks, 107-99, on Saturday, Dec. 17 in Atlanta. Kemba Walker’s return from a one-game absence (personal) helped the Hornets build a 16-point lead in the third quarter before Atlanta closed the gap midway through the fourth, turning the game into a back-and-forth affair before Charlotte took control in the closing minutes. The victory ended a season-high-tying four-game losing streak for the Hornets and also snapped a four-game road losing streak in Atlanta as well.
Trailing 99-95 with 1:32 remaining in the game, Atlanta’s Dennis Schroder hit a layup to cut Charlotte’s lead down to just two points. After a pair of empty possessions for both teams, Kemba Walker fired a pass to a wide-open Marvin Williams in three-point range, who promptly buried a huge shot from behind the arc to put the Hornets up, 102-97, with 27.8 seconds left on the clock. Paul Millsap missed a layup on the other end, effectively ending Atlanta’s chances for a win.
Cody Zeller picked up his second double-double of the year, finishing with 16 points and a season-high 11 rebounds in the victory. Zeller has now racked up double-digit rebounds in consecutive outings for the first time since a three-game stretch from Jan. 4-9, 2016.
Dwight Howard had a monstrous performance as he tallied 10 points and a season-high 23 rebounds in the defeat. This is the most rebounds recorded by any opposing player against the Hornets in any game this season.
Marco Belinelli and Marvin Williams each scored a team-high-tying 19 points for the Hornets… Kemba Walker tallied 18 points and a game-high 10 assists for his third double-double of the season… Nicolas Batum chipped in seven points, three rebounds, four assists and a game-high four steals… Atlanta edged out Charlotte in the rebounding battle, 47-43…Both teams finished with 12 turnovers… The Hornets drained 9-of-13 free-throw attempts (69.2 percent) while the Hawks hit just 9-of-16 (56.3 percent).
“This is huge for us. It was a rough road trip. It’s been a long trip. This shows a lot about the character of our guys. a good team on the road. It was a gritty win.” – Cody Zeller
The Hornets return home to take on the Los Angeles Lakers at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 20 in Charlotte. The game can be seen on FOX Sports Southeast or heard on WFNZ or on the official Charlotte Hornets mobile app.
