The Hawks squeeze another one out against the Hornets, 94-92

The Atlanta Hawks gave you another thriller Sunday in Charlotte, as they narrowly pulled out a victory against the Hornets, 94-92.

The Hawks starting lineup was back to normal, with Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver, Kent Bazemore, Paul Millsap and Al Horford taking the floor. Mike Muscala, questionable coming into this one, was active. Edy Tavares and Tim Hardaway Jr. were inactives for today.

After getting off to a slow start early, falling down 9-2 before surging, going on a 19-5 run. Marvin Williams had 9 points after knocking down three early 3-pointers. Paul Millsap had a great first quarter, with 6 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists. The Hawks shot 57 percent in the quarter, and lead 28-18.

In the second quarter, the Hornets were able to narrow the gap on the Hawks. Jeremy Lamb had the Hornets first 6 points of the quarter. The Hawks had extended their lead to 14 points, until the Hornets called a timeout, and were able to get things back on track. Al Horford led the Hawks in scoring for the quarter with 8 points, and would carry the Hawks into the half up 46-39.

Charlotte took their first lead since the first quarter with just over eight minutes left in the third after Kemba Walker made a 3-pointer to make it a 54-53 game. The Hornets would own the quarter from there, outscoring the Hawks 37-24 for the quarter. The Hawks gave up five made 3-pointers in the quarter, a problem that has been ongoing early this season. The Hawks finished out the quarter on a good note, with a Thabo Sefolosha 3-pointer that got a friendly bounce to make it a 76-70 game in favor of the Hornets.

After both teams struggled in the first couple of minutes of the fourth quarter, Kent Bazemore got the Hawks on the board with a pair of free throws, followed by a Dennis Schroder jumper to make it 76-74 Hornets. The slow quarter continued, but the Hawks were able to take the lead at 80-79 thanks to an Al Horford basket with six minutes left in the game.

The Hawks were able to extend their lead with a pair of Jeff Teague free throws, and a bucket by Tiago Splitter. After a pair of Kemba Walker free throws, he would then tie the game at 84 apiece with two minutes to go. Kent Bazemore made a huge 3-pointer with just over a minute to go to give the Hawks a three point lead, but as the story of the game went, Charlotte had an answer with a Marvin Williams three of their own.

Paul Millsap got a shooter's roll on the Hawks ensuing possession, making it a 92-89 game with 27.6 seconds left. Nicolas Batum would miss a layup, and after an offensive rebound, Paul Millsap came up with a huge block on Marvin Williams, giving the Hawks two free throws on the other end. Kent Bazemore would knock down the pair.

Marvin Williams came down on the following possession, knocking down a 3-pointer to make it 94-92. On the Hawks inbound, Kemba Walker got tied up with Paul Millsap. Walker was calling for timeout, a timeout that they did not have, but the referees called for a jump ball. Kemba Walker then drove down, took one last shot, but it rimmed out, giving the Hawks the win.

Kent Bazemore led all Hawks scorers with 20 points. Al Horford came up big with a double-double, scoring 16 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Jeff Teague had 18 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists, while Paul Millsap had 16 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists for Atlanta.

The Hawks will look to make it 3-straight wins against the Heat Tuesday night in Miami.