Walker, Lamb, and Zeller Combine For 60-Points as Hornets Stomps Hawks
Charlotte, NC – For the second time in three days, we saw the Atlanta Hawks with star rookie Trae Young versus Kemba Walker and the Charlotte Hornets, this time at the Spectrum Centre. Their last matchup in Atlanta ended with a game saving block by John Collins for the Hawks to escape with the victory 124-123.
As the Hawks entered this matchup off a win last night they looked to slowing down Walker who has been playing at an All-Star level to start the season. The Hawks jumped to an early lead of seven points behind the team starting the game hitting four out of their first five three pointers with one by Young. Walker who has been playing lights out struggled to gather a rhythm going one for seven in the first quarter as his team was down 24-28. During that quarter Hawks jumped out to a 10-point lead, their largest of the night.
Hornets took the lead in the second quarter and never trailed again, going on a 17-4 run behind rookie Miles Bridges seven points, whom finished with nine points off the bench. Hawks battled back to keep the score close behind Young’s second three pointer, however he struggled on a back to back night finishing with 18 points, going seven-of-19 from the field.
The backcourt of Walker and Jeremy Lamb for the Hornets had pedestrian nights from the field but still managed to put up numbers from the free throw line going 15-of-19 together. On the other side, Hawks had a poor night from the field shooting 34 percent and 25 percent from three-point range. Hornets shot 46 percent from the field and a low 20 percent from three-point range.
The game was a five-point swing as the second quarter was coming to an end. Cody Zeller for the Hornets played well in just his 23 minutes in the game, scoring 14 of his 19 points in the first half. He leads the team with 14 points as Hornets went in to halftime up 55-49.
Both teams had a careless night combing for 33 turnovers. Rookie Kevin Huerter showed flashes knocking down four-of-seven from three, finishing with 12 points.
During the third quarter, Hawks struggled to score while Hornets went up by 11 points. The trio of Zeller, Walker, and Lamb did some scoring to slowly pull away as the third quarter came to an end keeping that 11-point lead. As the fourth quarter started, Hawks still struggled going scoreless in the first two minutes as Hornets steadily build their league behind Lamb who finished with 22 points. A three pointer from Walker all but put the nail in the coffin as he finished with 19 points, helping the Hornets get their largest lead of the night at 19 points.
On a night where the Hawks dominated the boards, missed shots and turnovers smelled doom for them as the Hornets won 108-94. Hornets next game will be Friday night as they host the struggling Utah Jazz.
