Hawks drop fourth straight in 113-105 loss to Hornets

The Atlanta Hawks traveled to Charlotte to take on the Hornets for the second game in a row. The result ended up being the same for Atlanta, losing 113-105 this time.

There was a change to the starting lineup tonight. Bogdan Bogdanovic started in place of Cam Reddish after Reddish has struggled in recent games. Bogdanovic ended up injuring his right knee in the second quarter after colliding with LaMelo Ball and falling in transition.

Regardless, the Hawks had a much better first quarter than the disastrous one they suffered through last week where they only mustered up 11 points. Tonight, Atlanta was able to score 29 points in the opening period which is on par with how they usually start games.

Atlanta trailed the Hornets 59-50 heading into the locker room. The Hawks had trouble defending Charlotte down low and on the outside, allowing PJ Washington to pickup 12 points in the first half.

John Collins led Atlanta with 10 points and seven rebounds at the break. There were a lot of rumors circulating around Collins and Trae Young, but the on-court chemistry still looked to be there.

The Hawks took advantage 11-4 run to open the third quarter, but Charlotte kept hitting their open shots. Atlanta’s defense was not good during this contest. Charlotte outscored the Hawks 28-26 in the third to maintain their steady lead.

Reddish had a solid offensive outing as Bogdanovic headed to the locker room, but he started to go cold, missing his last three triples.

Hornets rookie LaMelo Ball was able to cement himself into the record books against the Hawks, becoming the youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double.

The killers for the Hawks tonight were their poor shooting percentages, and that starts with Young. He shot just 26.3% from the field and missed all five of his 3-pointers en route to a 15 point outing. That is two poor performances for Young in a row — both coming against the same team, which was an unlikely outcome for him.

The Hawks shot 37.4% from the field and 30.4% from beyond the arc. Reddish finished as the leading scorer for the Hawks, ending the game with 21 points off the bench.

Atlanta looked to have an advantage with the Hornets coming off of a back-to-back, but in the end, the Hawks could not score with the Hornets, losing their fourth straight game and second straight to Charlotte.

De’Andre Hunter finished with 20 points and eight rebounds for the visitors, while Ball paced Charlotte with 22 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists in the win. P.J. Washington also added 22 points and seven rebounds, with Terry Rozier leading all scorers with 23 points to go along with four steals. Reddish responded to the lineup change with 21 points, five rebounds and four steals off the bench.

The Hawks are scheduled to be back in action Monday night from Atlanta for a matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers.