Hawks at Hornets
Kent Bazemore started just 25 games in his first three NBA seasons, but the Atlanta Hawks are counting on the swingman to make the transition from valuable role player to starter. The Hawks travel to the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday and Bazemore will look to build off his team-high 19 points as Atlanta edged the Hornets 97-94 on Friday.
Bazemore, the only new starter for a Hawks squad that reached the Eastern Conference finals last spring, made only two shots from the field in his first two games before nailing four 3-pointers en route to a 7-for-13 shooting night. “I think it says a lot about us gutting it out,” Bazemore told reporters after the game, “Our defense was good when it needed to be.” Charlotte hopes to build off a spirited fourth-quarter run during which the Hornets rallied from 14 points down before Kemba Walker missing a potential game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer. “We’ve got to play with a purpose,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. “We had too many turnovers.”
TV: 2 p.m. ET, FSN Southeast (Charlotte, Atlanta)
ABOUT THE HAWKS (2-1): Atlanta was outrebounded for the third consecutive game on Friday and is allowing 17.3 offensive rebounds. Al Horford, Paul Millsap and Jeff Teague have reached double figures in scoring in all three games, and the combination of Teague and Dennis Schroder, finished with 28 points, six assists and six rebounds. The Hawks won Friday without Kyle Korver, who was inactive to rest his surgically repaired right ankle one night after scoring 15 points in a victory over New York.
ABOUT THE HORNETS (0-2): Charlotte committed 20 turnovers, leading to 26 Atlanta points, and shot only 33.3 percent from the field in the fourth quarter. Guard Jeremy Lamb gave Charlotte a boost off the bench Friday, scoring 11 points after missing the season opener with a sprained right ankle. Forward Marvin Williams recorded his second consecutive double-double Friday, and the Hornets’ frontcourt starters (Williams, Al Jefferson and Nicolas Batum) combined for 37 points and 34 rebounds.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Friday’s victory marked Atlanta head coach Mike Budenholzer’s 100th with the club.
2. The Hornets seek to avoid their first 0-3 start since 2010-11.
3. Hawks’ F Mike Muscala has missed the past two games with a sprained right ankle.