Hawks finish short of Hornets
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Kemba Walker scored 29 points and made two key 3-pointers down the stretch that helped the Charlotte Hornets beat the Atlanta Hawks 121-110 on Friday night.
Nicolas Batum and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist each added 19 points as Charlotte rallied to regain a lead it maintained since the second period, but surrendered halfway through the fourth. Dwight Howard added 18 points and 15 rebounds, while Jeremy Lamb scored 12 points off the bench.
Marvin Williams finished with 11 points for the Hornets.
Kent Bazemore led Atlanta with 26 points and Taurean Prince added 21. Mike Muscala helped Atlanta take a brief fourth-quarter lead with 14 points, but the Hawks fell to 0-2 in the season series. Ersan Ilyasova and Dennis Schroder scored 11 points apiece for Atlanta.
John Collins shot 4 for 5 for 10 points for the Hawks, who entered the night tied with the Orlando Magic for the NBA’s worst record.
Muscala hit three free throws with 2:40 to play for a one-point Atlanta lead. Walker put the Hornets back up 114-110 with 2 minutes left with a 3-pointer and jumper.
Walker’s 3-pointer had restored Charlotte’s lead at 109107 with 3:05 left. Moments before, Prince’s steal and dunk put Atlanta ahead 105-104 with less than 4 minutes to play.
With 4:34 left until halftime, Walker went hard to the court
after slipping on a drive to the basket and appearing to hit his head on Collins’ knee. Walker’s 3-pointer a minute later put Charlotte ahead 53-46.