Atlanta Hawks Trounce Charlotte for Fourth Straight Win
The Atlanta Hawks were dominant on Tuesday night against the Charlotte Hornets as they won their fourth straight game.
The Atlanta Hawks will officially be the fifth-seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
That spot in the standings was clinched on Tuesday night when the Hawks destroyed the Charlotte Hornets by a 103-76 score. The Hawks controlled this game from start to finish and picked up an easy win to secure their playoff position.
It is hard to find things that the Hawks did not do well in this game.
They shot 51.9 percent from the field and won the rebounding battle by a 50-to-40 margin. The Hawks also held the Kemba Walker-less Hornets to shooting 33.0 percent from the field and 3-for-23 from three-point range. This was total domination from the start and a momentum-sustaining win for Atlanta.
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The Hawks were led by Dwight Howard in this game. In just 25 minutes played, Howard finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor. His presence allowed the Hawks to have total control of the paint for the duration of this game.
The rest of Atlanta’s scoring was distributed all throughout the lineup. Ersan Ilyasova and Paul Millsap were the only other two Hawks in double-figures, as each man pitched in 10 points. Dennis Schroder played sound basketball with eight points (on 3-of-5 shooting) and nine assists. Kent Bazemore, Taurean Prince, and Mike Muscala also pitched in eight points apiece. Tim Hardaway Jr. added nine points of his own.
On the defensive end, the Hawks smothered the Hornets. Nicolas Batum played just 10 minutes and did not score. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was the only starter to score double-figure points, as he scored 10. If not for Jeremy Lamb’s 21 points, the Hornets may have been on their way to an all-time bad offensive performance. But Lamb’s 21 points came on 18 shot attempts. Forced to settle for contested shots all night long, the Hornets could not knock them down.
Even though Walker was not playing in this game, this was still a very welcoming performance by the Hawks.
They controlled the glass, which is something that is critical in the playoffs. The Hawks forced the Hornets to play terrible offense in the half-court and the Hawks did not beat themselves in a trap game. All of those factors are very crucial in playoff basketball and the Hawks will need to repeat those trends.
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The Washington Wizards will be the Hawks’ first-round opponent and that is a stiff challenge. But the Hawks teamed that has shown up for the past four games can compete with anyone.