North Charlotte Today

The Charlotte Hornets experienced another narrow defeat on Saturday night, falling to the Atlanta Hawks 107-104. This marks a continuation of their recent trend of last-minute losses.

Brandon Miller led the Hornets with 32 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and two blocks. His performance included seven successful three-pointers out of 19 attempts. Josh Green and Vasilije Micić also contributed significantly, setting new season highs in scoring with 17 and 15 points respectively.

For the Hawks, Jalen Johnson scored 20 points along with nine assists and three blocks. De’Andre Hunter added 18 points, including nine in the fourth quarter.

The game saw significant momentum shifts. After halftime, Atlanta gained an 11-point lead which was countered by a strong response from Charlotte to take a five-point advantage late in the third quarter. However, Atlanta retaliated with a decisive run to regain control midway through the final period.

In the closing moments, Trae Young's pass set up Hunter for an easy dunk after Micić's pass was deflected. Despite Miller hitting a crucial three-pointer to bring Charlotte within one point, he missed a subsequent attempt that could have tied the game.

This loss extends Charlotte's losing streak to five games. Notably, their last three defeats at home were decided by a total of just eight points combined—a rare occurrence in franchise history.

Defensively, Charlotte forced Atlanta into committing turnovers but struggled to convert these opportunities into points. The Hawks dominated inside play despite Nick Richards' return to action for Charlotte.

Hornets Head Coach Charles Lee remarked on his team's effort: “I think that we are doing a lot of really good things to put ourselves in a position to win a game... Brandon hits a big shot to put us back in pretty good position.”

Charlotte will conclude its homestand against the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday evening as part of Emirate NBA Cup group play.