NBA

Charlotte Hornets at Atlanta Hawks

· National Basketball Association
4-13, 1-8 Away
Final
110 - 113

11-7, 3-4 Home

Jalen Johnson scores 28 and lifts Hawks over Hornets 113-110

Kon Knueppel gets the hoop and the harm

Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 23 points and five rebounds, and Dyson Daniels added 22 points and nine rebounds for the Hawks. Onyeka Okongwu scored 20 points.

The Hornets, who saw their losing streak extended to six games, were led by rookie Kon Knueppel with 28 points. He set a Hornets rookie record with seven made 3-pointers.

The Hornets trailed 112-110 with 11 seconds left. Alexander-Walker stripped Knueppel on a drive to the basket and was immediately fouled. He made 1 of 2 free throws. The Hornets had a chance at a game-tying three-pointer, but Miles Bridges shot an air ball under heavy pressure at the buzzer.

Johnson has eight straight games of at least 15 points, five rebounds and five assists, setting a franchise record.

The Hornets entered the game shooting an NBA-best 41.5%, but were held to 31.8% (14 for 44).

Knueppel has shot at least 40% from 3-point range in six straight games and hit 16 of 23 in his last two. He entered the game leading all rookies in scoring at 18.8 points per game and has seven games in November with at least 24 point.

The Hawks had a nice burst at the end of a tight third quarter sparked in part by Mouhamed Gueye. The big man had a dunk off an assist from Johnson, a blocked shot of Collin Sexton (22 points) and a pretty baseline drive early in the fourth that gave the Hawks contributions from deep in the rotation. The Hawks put together a 16-2 run over the end of the third and beginning of fourth quarters, but the Hornets would not go away.

Up next The Hornets host the New York Knicks on Wednesday.

The Hawks play at Washington on Tuesday.

Regular Season Series

ATL leads series 1-0

Recent Plays

4th 0.0 End of Game 110 - 113
4th 0.0 End of the 4th Quarter 110 - 113
4th 0.1 Hornets offensive team rebound 110 - 113
4th 0.7 Miles Bridges misses 26-foot three point pullup jump shot 110 - 113
4th 4.8 Collin Sexton enters the game for Moussa Diabate 110 - 113

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/cha.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originCHA https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/atl.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originATL
39-86 FG 45-91
45 Field Goal % 49
14-44 3PT 11-31
32 Three Point % 35
18-20 FT 12-16
90 Free Throw % 75
43 Rebounds 37
9 Offensive Rebounds 10
34 Defensive Rebounds 27
26 Assists 32
4 Steals 6
2 Blocks 5
15 Turnovers 7
1 Team Turnovers 2
16 Total Turnovers 9
0 Technical Fouls 1
0 Total Technical Fouls 1
0 Flagrant Fouls 0
23 Points Conceded Off Turnovers 8
0 Fast Break Points 17
48 Points in Paint 66
15 Fouls 21
8 Largest Lead 10
Atlanta Hawks Atlanta Hawks Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Mouhamed Gueye, F Day-To-Day Dec 25
N'Faly Dante, C Out Dec 23
Eli John Ndiaye, C Out Dec 21
Kristaps Porzingis, C Out Dec 14
Charlotte Hornets Charlotte Hornets Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Mason Plumlee, C Out Dec 25
Ryan Kalkbrenner, C Out Dec 25
Grant Williams, F Out Dec 13

Game Information

State Farm Arena

Location: Atlanta, GA
Attendance: 17,460 · Capacity:

2025-26 Southeast Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Orlando 17 13 .567 - W1
Miami 15 15 .500 2 L3
Atlanta 15 16 .484 2.5 L4
Charlotte 10 20 .333 7 W1
Washington 5 23 .179 11 L2
Full Standings

NBA News

Fantasy basketball picks, DFS and betting tips for Friday's NBA games

Fantasy basketball picks, DFS and betting tips for Friday's NBA games

Eric Moody breaks down Friday's NBA games and offers his top fantasy streamers as well as his favorite bets and DFS plays.

NBA buzz: Latest updates, trades, intel ahead of Feb. 5 deadline

NBA buzz: Latest updates, trades, intel ahead of Feb. 5 deadline

Catch up on the latest buzz, trade alerts and league intel from our ESPN NBA insiders.

Perk: LeBron, Lakers relationship has run its course

Perk: LeBron, Lakers relationship has run its course

Kendrick Perkins explains why he thinks LeBron James isn't feeling the Lakers' situation anymore.

Perk points finger at JJ Redick for Lakers' defensive woes

Perk points finger at JJ Redick for Lakers' defensive woes

Kendrick Perkins and Monica McNutt discuss the recent issues with the Lakers.