Hawks hold off Hornets to pick up third straight win

After the Hawks won their second challenge of the night, the Hornets retained possession of the ball. Hornets guard Cody Martin bounced the ball to Miller on the wing, who turned into the corner and hit a 3 while falling out of bounds.

It brought the Hornets within 103-102. The Hawks’ defense held firm, stopping Miller’s next 3-point attempt. Then Onyeka Okongwu wrestled the rebound away from Moussa Diabate while drawing a foul.

Okongwu and De’Andre Hunter both hit clutch free throws down the stretch to give the Hawks just enough separation at the buzzer.

“I thought we were tough-minded tonight, and that was a good win,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “It may not be a win that people talk about the same way as another win, but it’s every bit as difficult to come in here and win a game like that on a back-to-back after a big win.”

2. Jalen Johnson scored seven of his 20 points in the third quarter on perfect shooting in 10 minutes.

The Hawks have come to rely on Johnson to help create looks for the Hawks, particularly when Trae Young rests. Johnson has thrived with pushing the ball in transition and setting the Hawks’ pace to capitalize on the trailing defenses.

Across 21 games, Johnson has picked apart defenses and found guys inside with lobs. He led the team with nine assists on Saturday.

The Hawks have also emphasized the notion of “eyes out” and looking for teammates on the perimeter and two of his assists were on 3-point shots.

“You can see flashes and things like that,” said Young, who had 14 points and five assists. “And then being around him in practice, you really see flashes a lot. You just never got to see it because he was never healthy.”

3. Johnson had plenty of help from second-year guard Kobe Bufkin, who had four assists. The Hawks have continued to put the ball in Bufkin’s hands especially because of his ability to see over the top.

Bufkin had some strong defensive minutes too, one of which led to an 8-0 run that gave the Hawks a 79-76 lead. With 2:05 to play in the third quarter, the Hornets’ Cody Martin went one-on-one with Bufkin and tried to get him to bite on some pump fakes. Bufkin moved out of the way each time and recovered to keep contesting the shot.

It forced Martin to try to make a pass and then he tried to roll to the basket after creating space with Bufkin, giving Johnson time to rotate and block his eventual shot.

“Right there, I think I was just thinking ‘no threes’ at that moment,” Bufkin said. “I think he had hit a couple before that. So, just whatever I could do to not let him get that one off, is what I was thinking right there.”

4. Though the Hornets did everything to take the glass away from the Okongwu and Clint Capela, the Hawks got a big night from their centers, who both had double-digit rebounds.

Capela helped to keep the Hawks afloat early, despite the Hornets committing two to three guys to keep him off the glass.

Then late in the game, Okongwu busted up a Hornets pass in transition, which De’Andre Hunter converted with a dunk on the other end.

“It feels like it’s a fight,” Capela said.

5. The Hawks ruled out Bogdan Bogdanovic on the second night of back-to-back games, which opened up minutes for Garrison Mathews and Vit Krecji to return to the lineup.

Stat to know

16 - Jalen Johnson extended his double-digit scoring streak to 16 straight games, the longest run of his career and the longest active streak on the Hawks.

Quotable

“We got six-man Dre. We got six-man Bogi over there. We’re pretty deep. Man, I love playing with the guys.” - Onyeka Okongwu on the Hawks’ bench over the last few games.

Up next

The Hawks host former teammate Dejounte Murray and the Pelicans at State Farm Arena on Monday.