On a night where they rattled their single-game franchise record for most made 3-pointers, the Charlotte Hornets got off to a fantastic start and held off a late push from the Atlanta Hawks for a 133-126 home victory on Thursday evening.
Top Performers: Coming off a 13-day absence that forced him to miss only three games, LaMelo Ball made up for lost time with 28 points on 10-of-16 shooting, a season-high eight 3-pointers and 13 assists in 29 minutes for his sixth double-double of the season. Kon Knueppel also totaled 28 points on 10-of-17 shooting, six 3-pointers, seven assists and three steals, while Brandon Miller added 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting and seven assists. Per Stathead, this is the fifth time in franchise history that the Hornets have had three different players all score at least 25 points on 55% shooting or better in the same game (second time since the start of 2000-01).
Jalen Johnson led Atlanta with a career-high 43 points – 29 in the second half – on 16-of-27 shooting, 11 rebounds and nine assists to come up just short of his fifth straight triple-double. Nickeil Alexander-Walker went off for 28 points on 11-of-18 shooting and eight rebounds in 34 reserve minutes. Playing in his first game since suffering a right MCL sprain on Oct. 29, Trae Young had eight points on 3-of-8 shooting (0-of-5 from 3-point) and 10 assists in 20 minutes.
Turning Point: Constant ball movement and a tremendous display of spacing were key factors in the Hornets draining 18-of-31 first-half 3-pointers for an 80-69 lead, matching the NBA record for long-distance makes in a half (done seven times before, including by Charlotte on March 14, 2025). The once 24-point advantage mostly stayed in double figures until early in the fourth quarter, when the Hawks started clawing back and eventually made it a one-point game with 2:39 to go. Back-to-back layups and a 3-pointer from Ball on three of the next four Charlotte possessions quickly bumped the lead back to eight, ending Atlanta’s comeback chances.
A Lights-Out Night from Deep
The Hornets ended up draining a season-high 24-of-49 3-point attempts (49%), matching the second-highest single-game total in franchise history (26 at San Antonio on March 14, 2025). This is also tied for the most 3-pointers made by any NBA team in a game this season.
Keep Coming Up Clutch
Charlotte has now gone 4-2 in its past six clutch-time games, following an 0-5 start to the season. Since falling to 4-14 on Nov. 26, the Hornets have steadily got things pointed in the right direction to go 5-4 over their past nine outings, six of which have reached clutch time (4-2).
Taking Back the Fast Break
After getting shutout 17-0 in fast break scoring back on Nov. 23 in Atlanta, Charlotte took this area, 20-16, and held a 20-9 advantage through the first three quarters. The Hawks finished just under their season average coming into the game (17.4), which was fourth most in the NBA.
Postgame Quote
“I thought our group came out and set a tone early. It was the collective group communicating, getting back in transition, finishing possessions together and then that carried over to the offensive end… You build a big lead, the other team is going to have some type of run, and you have to be able to handle that adversity, weather the storm and respond. I thought we finished it off really well with some great physicality and the ability to make shots at the end of the game.” – Hornets Head Coach Charles Lee
What’s Next?
The Hornets will begin a two-game Central Division road trip against the Detroit Pistons on Saturday, Dec. 20 starting at 7:30 PM ET. Last year, the home team went 4-0 in the head-to-head season series between Charlotte and Detroit, with the all-time series now standing at 66-66.