Jalen Johnson and reserve Aaron Wiggins each scored 19 points as visiting Atlanta blew out the Charlotte Hornets 128-81 on Friday, the biggest margin of victory in Hawks history.
The 47-point gap topped the old record of 46 points set in a 126-80 victory over the visiting Sacramento Kings on Nov 15, 2017.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker put up 14 points, CJ McCollum posted 13 points, Dyson Daniels contributed 11 points and nine rebounds and Corey Kispert also had 11 points for Atlanta, which won its second game in a row to start the season.
Onyeka Okongwu added 10 points as the Hawks shot 50.5% from the field. Johnson supplied eight assists.
It was a miserable home opener for the Hornets, who won two nights earlier at Brooklyn to start their campaign. They committed 27 turnovers.
Naz Reid scored 17 points for Charlotte and Grayson Allen came off the bench for 11 points. Both players were in their home debuts with the Hornets. Reserve Tidjane Salaun also scored 11 points.
The Hawks were efficient on offense throughout the game.
The gap reached 97-62 by the end of the third quarter. The Hornets couldn’t even get it cranked up when the margin was out of hand, needing about 6 1/2 minutes to reach a double-digit total in the fourth quarter.
Wiggins, who shot 7-for-9 from the field, hit 3 of 5 from 3-point range.
Charlotte’s Brandon Miller finished 2-for-14 from the field, including 1-for-11 on 3-point tries. He scored six points.
The Hornets didn’t apply much pressure, not attempting a 10th free throw until deep into the fourth quarter.
Atlanta built a 15-point first-quarter lead. It was 33-20 through the opening quarter, with the Hornets willing to fire away from the perimeter. Charlotte was 2-for-15 on first-quarter 3-point attempts.
The Hawks poured it on in the second quarter to claim a 68-43 halftime lead on the strength of Wiggins’ 15 points along with 13 points apiece from Johnson and McCollum. Atlanta benefited from Charlotte’s 14 first-half turnovers.
The Hornets played again without injured Kon Knueppel (hamstring), Coby White (calf) and Grant Williams (hamstring).
