Hornets Reaction: Charlotte starts slow, late rally undone by Hawks in loss
In a game with big playoff implications, the Hornets started slow, rallied to take a lead but then were undone by the Hawks at home on Sunday afternoon, falling 105-101.
With both sides heavily impacted by injuries, the undermanned Hornets shot out of the gate in the first quarter to build a 17-point lead against the undermanned Hornets. Charlotte spent much of the next two quarters clawing back into the game, eventually taking a lead midway through the third.
However, Atlanta never relented despite falling behind by as many as 10 points. Lou Williams and Clint Capela helped the Hawks come back in the fourth and take the lead and the Hornets could not find answers on the offensive end to keep track.
Terry Rozier’s potential go-ahead 3-pointer in the final seconds missed long and Atlanta survived for the win. Rozier finished with 18 points, trailing only Miles Bridges’ 23 points for team-high honors. Devonte’ Graham added 16 and Brad Wanamaker had 13 off the bench.
The Good: Miles Bridges
Since Gordon Hayward went down, Bridges has stepped up in a big way. He moved into Hayward's spot in the starting lineup and hasn't been fazed. On Sunday, he was great all night, including his huge monster dunk in the fourth quarter over Clint Capela. He finished with 23 points on 9-of-17 shooting overall, though seven of his misses came on his 10 3-point attempts. He added seven rebounds and two assists as well. He, along with Jalen McDaniels, have been large boosts for the Hornets in the last week.
The Bad: The first quarter
The Hawks were down Trae Young, Danilo Gallinari, John Collins, Cam Reddish and De'Andre Hunter on Sunday and they looked the aggressors from the start, taking it to the Hornets early. Atlanta opened up a 24-7 lead with 4:15 to go. From there, the Hornets had to play catch up most of the night and, despite taking a lead midway through the third and leading for the majority of the fourth, the Hawks stayed in the game and edged out the win. The loss was the first for the Hornets both when leading after three quarters and when leading at any point in the last five minutes of a "clutch" game.
1
1
