Brandon Miller scored 31 points and the shorthanded Charlotte Hornets defeated the visiting Atlanta Hawks 110-107 on Wednesday night in the final game for both teams before the All-Star break.
LaMelo Ball had 24 points and six assists and the Hornets won for the 10th time in 11 games.
Charlotte played the first of four games without center Moussa Diabate and forward Miles Bridges, suspended by the NBA for their involvement in a Monday night brawl against the Detroit Pistons. Ryan Kalkbrenner and Grant Williams entered the starting lineup and scored seven and five points, respectively.
Kon Knueppel contributed 18 points and PJ Hall, who had not played in an NBA game in more than a month, scored 11 points and 10 rebounds in 17 minutes as Charlotte won despite faltering on offense over the final 5 1/2 minutes.
Dyson Daniels led the Hawks with 21 points, Jalen Johnson had 19 points and 13 rebounds, Onyeka Okongwu had 18 points and CJ McCollum contributed 17 points.
Both teams reach halftime with 26 wins.
Ball finished with seven 3-pointers and Miller made five 3-pointers. Charlotte made 19 of 51 long-range shots (37.3%). The Hawks made 10 of 36 three-pointers (27.8%).
The Hornets maintained a double-digit lead for much of the second half, but the Hawks closed to within 108-100 on Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s 3-pointer with less than three minutes remaining.
A basket by Daniels and three free throws by Okongwu made it 108-105 with 1:39 left, and the lead was cut to one when Johnson drove in with 59.6 seconds left. The Hawks regained possession with a chance to take the lead before Okongwu fumbled.
Knueppel made two free throws with 19.4 seconds left, and Okongwu missed a three-point shot that would have tied the game at the end.
Charlotte held a 58-49 halftime lead, fueled by Miller’s 15 points and the team’s 19 points off the bench.
With four three-pointers by Knueppel in the first quarter, the Hornets took a 10-point lead. Hall and Ball each scored six points in the first quarter, which ended with the Hornets up 35-27.
Charlotte’s lead increased to 17 points in the second quarter, but the Hawks got going and pulled within 58-49 at halftime.
–Field level media
date: 2026-02-12 03:29:00