Recap/Analysis: Hornets win their third straight over the Hawks – At The Hive

Brandon Miller scored 26 points and Tre Mann had his best game on his new team as the Charlotte Hornets took down the Atlanta Hawks, 122-99.

Summary

After some back and forth to start the game, Tre Mann helped the Hornets to an early lead. He hit two threes, found Nick Richards on a lob, then stole a Hawks pass for a dunk of his own. Brandon Miller hit a pair of threes of his own within the run as well. The offense went a little stagnant after that, and eight straight Hawks points to end the quarter gave them a two point lead heading into quarter number two.

Another Mann trey up the Hornets back on top early in the second quarter. The Hawks hung around, but four more Miller 3-point plays, two of each variety, kept the Hornets ahead. They led by six at the break.

Miles Bridges found Miller ahead of the pack after a Hawks miss for an easy dunk to start the second half. Tre Mann had another pair of threes with a backcourt steal in between them as the Hornets’ lead swelled to double figures. A couple of Charlotte-born kids Seth Curry and Saddiq Bey traded a pair of baskets through the middle of the quarter and then another Charlotte native Grant Williams put the Hornets up 16 with just under 90 seconds to play in the third. They held that lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The fourth quarter started the way every good fourth quarter does, with an illegal screen on each team. The Hornets had a sluggish offensive start to the fourth quarter and the Hawks closed within single digits. A Bridges three and a Vasilije Micic dipsy doo layup started a run that would put the game away. Bridges hit another three about three-and-a-half minutes later to cap the run and bring it full circle. The Hornets outscored the Hawks 15-1 in that stretch of play. They led by as many as 25 (off another Bridges three), which is their largest lead at any point this season. For the first time all season, they got to empty the deep bench with a lead.

The Good

Every time the Hornets sub it’s with a player who has made major contributions over the past few games and it’s also a player you’re not terrified to have shoot the ball or touch the ball or look at the ball.

— Doug Branson – Subscribe to Every Hornets Boxscore (@DougBransonLOH) February 15, 2024

It’s so refreshing.

Brandon Miller looked like a superstar, especially in the first two quarters and some change. He made movement threes, created for himself in the midrange, and had a couple of strong finishes at the basket. He stuffed the stat sheet to go with his game high 26 points, adding six rebounds, four assists, three blocks, and a steal.

Tre Mann had his best game as a Hornet so far. He seemed to time his hot streaks with Miller’s at the start of each half. He’s continued to show more as a passer and a rebounder than I think people expected. More than a couple of his eight rebounds came in traffic with bigger players around. He’s shown a very strong knack finding bigs, especially Nick Richards, at the rim when he drives. He straight up outplayed the Trae on the other team.

Cody Martin had an old school Cody Martin game. He didn’t score much, but that’s probably for the best. He focused his energy on the other things, and it paid off for the Hornets. He battled for boards and served as the lead defender at the point of attack against Trae Young and Dejounte Murray. Young had his lowest scoring game of the season, and Martin gets a lot of the credit for that.

The big three of Hornets holdovers–Miller, Martin, and Miles–had plus-minuses of +24, +33, and +33 respectively. With all the hype the new guys are getting for their contributions, it was nice to see the holdovers succeed in their new environment. Miles Bridges was smiling as he splashed his fourth quarter threes to put the game away.

The Bad

The Hornets got outworked on the defensive glass. The undersized Hawks were able to chase down long offensive rebounds and keep possessions alive. The Hornets had another very strong defensive showing, and it could have been even better had they cleaned up the defensive glass a little better.

What’s Next

It’s the all star break. Brandon Miller will be in the Rising Stars game on Friday night, but other than that, the Hornets will have a week off before they’re back in action in Utah next Thursday.