Hawks suffer first loss of season to Hornets, 126-109

The Atlanta Hawks were back at home to face the Charlotte Hornets as they looked to start the season 3-0. Unfortunately, the Hawks were not able to secure the victory and lost 126-109.

The Hawks started off slow on offense, missing a few shots early. That didn’t last for long, as they went on a small run to give themselves a sizable lead midway through the quarter. After coming out flat in the first two games, Trae Young had a solid first quarter with nine points.

Unfortunately for Young, he picked up three fouls in the first quarter, leading to Dejounte Murray returning to the game early. The Hornets started to find some offense late in the first quarter, but the Hawks fought fire with fire, making a few key plays to keep their lead intact heading into the second.

The Hornets kept coming to start the second, as the Hawks went into an offensive slump. An 11-0 run from the Hornets gave them a 33-30 lead before Nate McMillan called a timeout to regroup,

The Hawks found themselves trying to fight from behind for most of the second quarter, as they had a hard time stopping the Hornets’ offense. Young came back into the game midway through the quarter and found Murray for a much-needed three.

The Hawks saw themselves down as much as 10 in the quarter but went on an 8-2 run to end the half, 59-55.

It wasn't a pretty start for Atlanta to begin the third quarter, as the Hornets went on a 10-0 run, extending their lead to 14 points. The Hawks still couldn't get much going through the quarter, as the Hornets lead was as much as 18 points.

It wasn’t until midway through the quarter when the hosts woke up, and Young led the charge with a 9-0 run to bring them within nine points before the Hornets called a timeout. Young found a way to get to one of his favorite shots to cut the down their deficit.

Though the Hawks looked like they were getting back into it, the Hornets continued to fight back and extend their back to as much as 20 in the third and kept the lead going into the fourth.

In an effort to find some shooting, Nate McMillan inserted AJ Griffin to start the fourth quarter and scored five points to try and cut the Hawks’ 20-point deficit.

The Hawks went on a small run in the fourth quarter to cut their deficit again.

Just like the entire game, when the Hawks went on a run, the Hornets would answer back with a run of their own, making it unfeasible for Atlanta to come back.

All five starters for the Hawks finished in double digits, as Young led the way with 28 points and nine assists. The Hawks will face the Pistons in Detroit on Wednesday.

Stay tuned.