Young performance brings home long, drawn out win over Hornets, 125-120

2-0, baby.

The Hawks looked to continue their perfect start to the season in a Friday matchup with the Charlotte Hornets. The starting lineup was unchanged from the first game, but Bogdan Bogdanovic missed the contest with a right hamstring injury.

Trae Young continued his strong start to his season after a 30-and-10 opening night game.

Of course, he has a wide variety of passes in his bag as well.

Atlanta took control of the first quarter with quality defense all around, getting their hands on passes and closing out on Hornets shooters.

After one quarter, the Hawks had grabbed ahold of a 28-16 lead. Trae Young was the high scorer that period with nine points, and De’Andre Hunter added seven points and four rebounds.

Atlanta had a tough time rebounding, but still held a solid lead behind their defense. Dyson Daniels and Vit Krejci, unfortunately, both picked up their respective third fouls early in the second period, so creativity with the rotation was needed the rest of the way.

Jalen Johnson was one to step up in their absences, like on this lob to Capela.

The Hawks slowed down on offense from that point on, and Charlotte was able to chip at the lead.

De’Andre Hunter, however, continued his strong half with some decisive takes to the rim, good passing and confident shooting.

The Hawks let off the gas a bit down the stretch, and the second and third chances for the Hornets offense continued to pile up. After building a lead of as much as 18 points, Atlanta could only nurse a 62-58 lead at the break.

The Hornets grabbed 14 offensive rebounds for a gaudy 45% offensive rebound percentage, although they netted just 11 points off those second chance attempts. The Hawks, on the other hand, managed just three offensive rebounds for an 18% offensive rebound percentage.

It was an ugly affair to begin the third quarter, as well. But out of a timeout, the Hawks went on a tidy 7-0 run including a couple of dunks that got the crowd going.

LaMelo Ball, however, had other ideas. Behind his scoring, the Hornets never went away quietly.

Entering the final quarter, the Hawks held a slim 88-85 lead. Trae Young to this point had tallied 24 points, six assists, five rebounds, and four steals per the Elias Sports Bureau (although the Hawks themselves credited him with a fifth steal).

The fourth quarter was dominated by free throw shooting, as the Hornets entered the bonus with seven minutes left in the game. The numerous fouls contributed to a very long, staccato game that seemed to take forever.

Still, Atlanta continued to do just enough to hold the lead, despite Ball raining down threes from ridiculous angles.

At under six minutes left in the contest, the Hawks two key players linked up on this fastbreak moment.

The Hawks continued to attack the basket and be rewarded with free throws and easy finishes around the rim to stay at arm’s length away from Charlotte.

Late in the fourth quarter, LaMelo picked up his sixth foul trying to get free to receive the ball — something that ended his night with 34 points on just 20 shots.

Dyson Daniels made Ball work on that end despite struggling with foul trouble all night long. What he didn’t struggle with was shotmaking, like on this wild circus layup.

Atlanta hit their free throws down the stretch and teased home a 125-120 game to move to 2-0.

Trae Young had another starry performance with 38 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds and four steals. Dyson Daniels finished a career-high 18 points, plus four assists, two steals, and two blocks. De’Andre Hunter added a solid 24 points and seven rebounds.

Atlanta now hits the road for the first time to take on Oklahoma City, the number one seed in the Western Conference a season ago.