Campbell collected 22 points and 13 rebounds for his 11th double-double as the Charlotte Hornets rolled to an 111-87 victory over the Hawks.
A 12-year veteran, Campbell had his best season in 1996-97, when he averaged 14.9 points per game with the Los Angeles Lakers. This season, he is averaging 15.1 points and 7.2 rebounds while shooting 49 percent.
Statistically, Campbell is among the top centers in the Eastern Conference. His scoring average leads the conference and he is second to Philadelphia's Dikembe Mutombo in double-doubles.
 Jamaal Magloire scored 11 points, added eight rebounds, and held Nazr Mohammed without a field goal. Garrett Ellwood /NBAE/Getty Images |
"Whatever he's done, I want him to model it," Charlotte coach Paul Silas added. "He's playing well and taking it upon himself the last few ballgames to go out and dominate. When he comes with that type of energy, we're a very good team because he's leading the charge."
Campbell did most of his damage in the first half, when he had 16 points and helped the Hornets to a 64-40 lead. He made 6-of-7 shots in the first half, when Charlotte shot 64 percent (25-of-49), including an amazing 71 percent (15-of-21) in the second quarter.
Campbell had two dunks, a hook and two free throws as Charlotte used a 25-8 run to put away Atlanta. The run turned a 39-28 lead with 7:44 left into a 64-36 advantage with 38.1 seconds remaining.
For the second consecutive game, Charlotte held a huge 58-41 rebounding edge. Campbell had nine defensive boards and P.J. Brown added 10 as the Hornets posted consecutive wins for the first time since December 11-13.
"They got the ball into Elden and we didn't have an answer for him," Atlanta coach Lon Kruger said. "We were able to make a small push in the third quarter, but when you're down 24 at the half, it's too big of a deficit to overcome.
"Charlotte has always been a tough matchup for us," added Hawks forward Hanno Mottola. "They got so many fast-break points in the second quarter and really opened up a big cushion. They are very physical and were clicking from the inside and outside."
Shareef Abdur-Rahim scored 20 points for the Hawks, who shot just 34 percent (33-of-97).
Jason Terry added 13 points and Toni Kukoc had 11. But Kukoc broke his right wrist in the fourth quarter and will be out six to eight weeks. He is averaging 9.4 points on 42 percent shooting.
"We were shooting a lot of long jump shots and they were able to get the long rebounds and run," Abdur-Rahim said. "Back-to-back games are always difficult, but that's not an excuse."
"There's not many positives we can take from tonight," Hawks Kruger said. "I felt good about last night, but we weren't able to carry it over tonight. Charlotte jumped on us early and got us on our heels, especially at the beginning of the second quarter."
Atlanta is 8-12 in back-to-back games this season, but the number differential at home and on the road are worse.
The Hawks are 9-6 at Philips Arena compared to 4-15 on the road. They are averaging 101.1 points per game at home but just 89.5 on the road.
Charlotte cooled off in the third quarter, but Atlanta never was able to get back in the contest, drawing within 88-73 with 9:51 left.
"We were able to sustain what we accomplished early in the game," Silas said. "We've had a tendency to break down in the third quarter. We wanted to make sure we stayed focused. We got a lot of production from a lot of people".
Point guard Baron Davis added 20 points as Charlotte placed five players in double figures while shooting 51 percent (42-of-82).