The Sports Xchange
Oct 20, 2017
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Kemba Walker scored 26 points and Dwight Howard torched his former team for 20 points and 15 rebounds, and the Charlotte Hornets rallied from a 20-point deficit to roar past the Atlanta Hawks 109-91 on Friday night.
The Hornets trailed 40-20 with 8:52 left in the second quarter, but closed the gap to 56-49 at halftime and then dominated the second half with a 24-0 run in the third quarter. They outscored Atlanta 35-17 in the period.
Walker was 6 of 13 from the field with four 3-pointers. Howard, obtained from the Hawks in the offseason in a trade for Marco Belinelli and Miles Plumlee, had seven points in the 24-0 run, including two monstrous dunks. He was 8 of 12 from the field.
The Hornets (1-1) also got 21 points from Frank Kaminsky and 15 from Jeremy Lamb.
The Hawks (1-1) were led by Dennis Schroder with 25 points and Taurean Prince with 19. The Hawks shot just 37.9 percent from the field and were 7 of 30 from 3-point range.
The Hawks led 69-60 when the Hornets started their 24-0 run. Charlotte led 84-73 after three quarters. Atlanta had led 28-18 after one quarter.
NOTES: The Hornets were short-handed, missing four regulars. C Cody Zeller (right knee bone bruise), F Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (personal), G Michael Carter-Williams (knee soreness) and G Nic Batum (sprained left elbow) were all out. Batum could miss another month or so. ... The Hawks were without C Miles Plumlee (strained right quad). ... The Hawks opened their season with a 117-111 win at Dallas on Wednesday, behind 28 points from G Dennis Schroder. ... The Hornets opened their season with a 102-90 loss at Detroit. ... This was the first of four meetings between the Southeast Division rivals, but they won't meet again until late January. The Hornets won three of four between the teams last season. ... The Hornets will travel to Milwaukee on Monday. ... The Hawks will continue a season-opening five-game road trip on Sunday afternoon at Brooklyn. They won't play their first home game until Oct. 27 against Denver.