Atlanta Hawks vs Charlotte Hornets Match Player Stats On Oct 25, 2023

P.J. Washington scored 25 points and first-round draft pick Brandon Miller made a go-ahead 3-pointer as the Charlotte Hornets defeated the visiting Atlanta Hawks 116-110 in Wednesday night's season opener for both teams.

Washington made 12 of 18 shots from the field and had support from Terry Rozier's 24 points, LaMelo Ball's 15 points and 10 assists and Mark Williams' 13 points and 15 rebounds. Miller had 13 points and Gordon Hayward added 10.

Trae Young provided 23 points despite horrific shooting from the floor and reserve Jalen Johnson posted 21 points for the Hawks. Atlanta, which shot 5-for-29 on 3-pointers, received 15 points apiece from Saddiq Bey and Clint Capela, who grabbed 13 rebounds.

With Charlotte holding a 113-110 lead, Rozier made the second of two free-throw attempts and later made two more free throws to help the Hornets hang on.

Miller's 3-pointer with 4:19 remaining made it 101-99 and the Hornets led the rest of the way.

Ball, who shot 0-for-8 from the field in the first half, scored nine points in the third quarter as the Hornets built a 78-73 lead going to the fourth. Atlanta was in the lead less than 3 1/2 minutes later, setting up a tight back-and-forth stretch.

During the first half, Young became the eighth Hawk in franchise history to score 9,000 career points. Yet he had shooting woes for most of the game, going 4-for-19 from the field (1-for-9 on 3s) while relying on making 14 of 15 free throws.

The Hawks led 52-51 at halftime despite shooting 39.6 percent from the field that included 1-for-12 from 3-point range. Johnson had 13 points off the bench by the break, outscoring all of the Hornets reserves combined.

Charlotte's 12 first-half turnovers helped keep things even, though Rozier posted 11 points during a 2 1/2-minute span late in the half. Atlanta led 49-40 with less than four minutes left in the half and by an 11-point margin earlier in the second quarter.

The Southeast Division rivals won't meet again until mid-February.

--Field Level Media