Atlanta Hawks Hold On vs. Charlotte, Win 97-94

The Atlanta Hawks move to 2-1 after beating the Charlotte Hornets Friday night, 97-94 at Philips Arena.

The Atlanta Hawks get their first home victory, their first Southeast Division victory, and HC Mike Budenholzer’s 100th career victory all in the same night, as the Hawks hold on and beat the Charlotte Hornets, 97-94 on Friday night. This is the first game of a home and home with the Hornets, as both teams will pick it up at 1:30 PM ET in the Queen City Sunday afternoon.

-= Related: Atlanta Hawks Welcome Hornets to Philips Arena =-

Kent Bazemore led the way offensively with a game-high 19 points to go along with his 7 rebounds. Bazemore sank 4 of his 5 attempts from three-point range. This was the best performance he has had in the first three games of 2015-16 by far. Should he continue to play at this level, no doubt will he lessen the loss felt by the Atlanta Hawks at the three after DeMarre Carroll signed with the Toronto Raptors.

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Paul Millsap continues to prove that he is one of the most versatile players in the NBA. He had 18 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks, and 2 steals. In a small sample size, he has shown that he can play small forward should Coach Bud want to go big, with Tiago Splitter at center and Al Horford at power forward.

Al Horford, Dennis Schroder and Jeff Teague all had at least 14 points. Tonight was the first time that both Teague and Schroder started in the Atlanta Hawks’ back court.

Atlanta is managing the minutes of both Kyle Korver and Thabo Sefolosha, as they are working their way back to full strength after season-ending broken ankles in 2015. With neither Korver or Sefolosha playing in back-to-backs for the foreseeable future, I would welcome more starting lineups that feature both Jeff Teague and Dennis Schroder.

This game was never in doubt for the Atlanta Hawks, though the final score may not indicate that. Surprisingly, the Charlotte Hornets shot better from long distance (40%) than the Hawks did on Friday night (34.8%). Charlotte was essentially that antithesis of the sharpshooting Atlanta Hawks of 2014-15, to the point where The Hive (Time Warner Cable Arena) was better suited as Brick City.

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Both teams played with great defensive tenacity. Thabo Sefolosha has not skipped a beat defensively in his two games this season. He has 6 steals in 2 games this season, as he did not play last night in Madison Square Garden versus the New York Knicks.

The one aspect of tonight’s game that I believe tipped the game in Atlanta’s favor was that Charlotte’s SF Nicolas Batum turned the ball over 7 times. Though he was great on offense for the Hornets (14 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists), his carelessness with the basketball proved costly for his ball club.

Next: Lamar Patterson Becoming an Impact Player for Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks will have tomorrow off before playing the Charlotte Hornets in Time Warner Cable Arena for their home opener on Sunday. Atlanta nearly let this game slip away in the fourth quarter, but did just enough defensively to give the team their second victory of 2015-16. A win is a win. Go Hawks!