Hawks suffer 115-114 loss to Hornets in Trae Young’s return

The Hawks suffered a 115-114 loss after controlling most of the game. Some of this can be attributed to Snyder’s preference for resting his players, rather than playing Young, Bogdanovic, and Capela until the final buzzer.

Trae Young would return to the starting lineup for the first time in six weeks to play the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night. This would be the final home game of the regular season. While Young entered the lineup, Johnson, Hunter, and Murray were added to the injury report.

After starting down 14-7, the Hawks used an 8-0 run to take a 16-14 lead after a timeout from Quin Snyder. Trae Young scored his first basket since February 23rd on a left handed layup.

Mouhamed Gueye entered the game in the first quarter, and later knocked down the first three-pointer of his NBA career. The Hawks led 35-30 after one quarter, with Young logging six points, five assists, and three rebounds. Windler nailed a few three-pointers, including a couple from long range.

The second quarter played slow, with scores coming far and far between. That is, until the Hawks picked it up in the final few minutes, outscoring the Hornets 29-25 in the quarter. Krejci scored 11 points while Mathews and Bogdanovic scored 10. The Hawks led 67-55 at half.

The Hawks got off to a great offensive start to the second half, scoring 12 points in the first few minutes.

Bogdanovic would break his own record for most three-pointers in a season shortly after. Midway through the third quarter, the Hawks held a 85-68 lead. Late in the quarter, Kobe Bufkin scored on back to back possessions to keep the Hawks’ lead at 16. The Hawks would end the third quarter with a 92-77 lead.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Hornets cut the lead to just seven points. The lead dwindled to five, and Vit Krejci sank two three-pointers to hold onto the lead. However, Krejci then threw a turnover that would make the lead just 106-103 in the Hawks’ favor. The Hornets tied it up at 107, while Snyder opted to leave Young, Capela, and Bogdanovic on the bench to finish the game. Trent Forrest put the Hawks on top 112-111 while the clock ticked under one minute, and the Hawks got a stop on the other end.

With a 114-113 lead, the Hawks couldn’t convert on offense in the final seconds, then Bridges scored to put the Hornets up one point with 3.8 seconds remaining. Trent Forrest had a midrange swallowed by the Hornets defense, and this game ended in a loss.