The Atlanta Hawks were in action on Sunday evening to face the Hornets. After a comfortable win against the New Orleans Pelicans the night before, the Hawks were looking for a back-to-back victory, but
this time, at home. The Hawks were without Kristaps Porzingis and Luke Kennard in this one, but the Hornets were missing a few of their key players as well.
Zaccharie Risacher was active to start the game, getting an easy dunk and 3-pointer.
The Hawks got out to a 12-6 lead, but the Hornets stormed back and went on a run themselves. They continued to score at will in the paint and extended their lead to as much as eight points. The Hawks didn’t falter for too long and went on their own run down the stretch of the first.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker started the run with a 3-pointer.
Jalen Johnson connected with Onyeka Okongwu for an alley-oop dunk.
Going into the second, the Hawks led 28-25. The beginning of the quarter belonged to the Hornets, and more specifically, Kon Knueppel and K.J. Simpson, who had the first ten points for them. The Hawks stayed in, and they got a 3-pointer from Dyson Daniels later in the quarter.
Johnson knocked down a 3-pointer to keep the Hawks in the game, his second of the game.
It was pretty much a back-and-forth game going into the second half, as the Hawks trailed 55-53. To start the third quarter, Daniels got a few of his floaters to go.
Momentum continued for the Hawks throughout the quarter, and Johnson got the crowd rocking after this dunk.
Keaton Wallace turned defense into offense late in the quarter, getting the steal and throwing it down on the other end.
Mouhamed Gueye then got a big block on Miles Bridges, and the Hawks turned it into three points on offense. Going into the fourth, the Hawks led 92-88.
They kept that momentum from the end of the third and rolled it into the fourth, especially Wallace.
The Hawks had a lead as big as ten in the fourth, but the Hornets fought their way back into the game. The Hornets took the lead late in the quarter, and the Hawks had to find a way to weather the storm. They did, with Johnson hitting a tough fadeaway.
Alexander-Walker then got a layup on the net offensive possession to give the Hawks the lead.
The Hawks got several stops on defense to maintain the one-point lead, and the Hornets had to play the foul game. Alexander-Walker went to the free throw line and split the two, giving the Hawks a 112-110 lead with 11.3 seconds left. The Hornets were not able to get a clean shot off, as Alexander-Walker came up with the steal, and was fouled. He split the free throws once again, and the Hawks led by three with 4.9 seconds.
The Hornets had another shot, but were unsuccessful in their efforts to tie the game, and the Hawks took the win.
Johnson finished with 28 points, eight rebounds, and 11 assists, Alexander-Walker finished with 23 points, and Daniels finished with 22 points, nine rebounds, and six assists.
The Hawks will be back in action on Tuesday against the Washington Wizards.
