Hawks at Hornets
Kemba Walker continues establishing himself as one of the NBA’s elite players, lifting the Charlotte Hornets to victories in seven of their first 10 games. Walker and his teammates face an early-season test Friday when the Hornets host the Atlanta Hawks, who feature one of the top defenses in the league while winning six games in a row in building a 1½ game lead over the Hornets in the Southeast Division.
Walker put together another stellar performance in Charlotte’s 115-108 victory Tuesday at Minnesota – 30 points, six assists, five rebounds and five steals, despite his back tightening up in the second quarter – and credited coach Steve Clifford’s halftime lecture with waking up the Hornets from a 12-point deficit at intermission. “He got into us a little bit,” Walker told reporters afterward. “It worked for us, because we needed to pick our energy up.” The Hawks are playing as well as anybody in the NBA, extending their winning streak with Wednesday’s 107-100 home victory over Milwaukee despite playing without starting center Dwight Howard and key reserve Thabo Sefolosha. “It says a lot about our bench and what they bring,” Atlanta forward Paul Millsap told reporters after scoring 21 points.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Southeast (Atlanta, Charlotte)
ABOUT THE HAWKS (9-2): Even without Howard (quad) and Sefolosha (knee), Atlanta extended its best start in seven seasons thanks to a 19-0 second-quarter run sparked by its bench which outscored Milwaukee 35-25. Howard, averaging 14.8 points and 12.3 rebounds in his first season with the Hawks, has anchored a defense allowing 98.2 points per contest. Forward Mike Muscala (16 points Wednesday) and Howard are among the league leaders in field-goal percentage, while seven Hawks are averaging 9.3 or more points per game.
ABOUT THE HORNETS (7-3): Walker – who never has shot greater than 42.7 percent from the field in a single season – is hitting 49.1 percent of his attempts (47.8 percent from 3-point range) while averaging 25.8 points and 5.5 assists. Center Frank Kaminsky scored 12 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter Tuesday, after finishing with a combined 11 in back-to-back losses to Toronto and Cleveland. Charlotte has allowed 100-plus points in its past three games after holding five of its first seven opponents to 97 points or fewer.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Walker is 13-of-23 from 3-point range in the past three games.
2. Charlotte G/F Jeremy Lamb, sidelined the past seven games with a hamstring injury, is not expected to return Friday.
3. The Hawks are off to their best start since going 11-2 to open 2009-10.