CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (AP) — Trae Young scored 30 points and reached a season high with eight points to 3 points, and the Atlanta Hawks smack the Hornets Charlotte 113-91 on Sunday night for their fourth straight win.
De’Andre Hunter scored 20 points and survived a heavy fall at the end of the game for the Hawks, who led by 27 in the fourth quarter.
Miles Bridges and LaMelo Ball each scored 19 points for the Hornets, who missed their first 19 attempts by 3 points and shot 11.1% (4 of 36) on the other side of the arc. Ball and Terry Rozier were a 0 in 14 long-distance combination, while Charlotte had their three-win streak.
The Hawks are looking to race back into the playoffs after a series of difficult games.
“We’re definitely moving in the right direction,” Young said. “ Right now it’s more about coherence and preservation. We are not satisfied. We know what to do and what we can do.”
This game was a big step forward as the Hawks established a 55-44 lead at halftime after holding the Hornets to a 0-16 lead in the first half.
The Hornets would miss three more 3 to start the second half, and the frustrations began to boil in the middle of the third quarter when Ball flew the ball out of the field and was charged with a flagrant foul for slipping on a Hawks player.
After the evaluation of the flagrante and the return of the players to the field, Ball complained to the official about the call and received a technical error.
The Hawks took advantage of the turnaround to increase their lead to 22.
PJ Washington finally ended Charlotte’s long disette when he hit a 3 with 5:38 to do in the third quarter and quickly followed with a second. But Charlotte couldn’t continue her throw and the Hawks increased their lead to 27 in the fourth quarter behind Young, who finished 8 of 15 from behind the arc.
“We couldn’t make any shots,” said James Borrego, the Hornets’ coach. “We’re going on, but we have to shoot.”
The Hornets entered the game after winning seven of their last eight games and are fourth in the NBA in percentage of goals at 3 points.
“For the most part, I thought we did a good job by keeping the ball in front and getting close to the 3-point shooter urgently,” Hawks coach Nate McMillan said.
wounds TO THE HUNTER
There was a scary moment in the last minutes of the fourth quarter, when Hunter was attacked from the baseline and knocked down by Kelly Oubre Jr.in the air was filled. and landed hard on the ground. The match was reviewed and Oubre was assessed a flagrant foul of 2 and kicked out of the match.
Hunter seemed to be wounded at first, stayed on the field for more than a minute, but eventually got up and stayed in the game.
After the game, McMillan said that the side of Hunter’s body was sore, but he gave no indication that he might miss a moment. The Hawks won’t play again until Wednesday.
“He had ice on his shoulder and a little bit all over his side,” McMillan said. “It’s too early to tell if there is a concern. He was able to move a little in the locker room and was enveloped in ice.”
