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Monday, Dec. 27 7:30pm ET
Hornets have 7 score in double figures | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- It took the Charlotte Hornets four games to figure out how to win without Eddie Jones. "We slipped but we're back," David Wesley said after Charlotte defeated the Atlanta Hawks 108-104 on Monday night. It was the Hornets' first victory since Jones, their leading scorer and top defender, went out with an elbow injury that is expected to sideline him for 3-6 weeks.
"When it comes time to take tough shots and you don't have that guy on the floor, it makes it difficult for you," Wesley said. "So we've got to focus and we've got to execute. When we get double-teamed, we've got to pass off. And when we get open shots, we've got to knock them down." The Hornets shot 49 percent and had seven players score in double figures. Charlotte also had a 42-31 rebounding edge and good ball movement, leading to assists on 30 of their 35 baskets. The inside-outside combination of Derrick Coleman and Wesley was particularly effective. Coleman had 25 points and 16 rebounds and Wesley had 23 points, 12 assists and three steals. Wesley powered a first-quarter run that put the Hornets ahead to stay on the way to ending an eight-game losing skid against their Central Division rivals dating to April 1997. "It was important for us to be aggressive at both ends," Coleman said. "The last few games our main problem was defense and rebounding, and tonight we made a step in the right direction by getting that corrected." Isaiah Rider had 11 of his 25 points in the third quarter to rally the Hawks, but it wasn't enough to prevent Atlanta from falling to 2-11 on the road. Jim Jackson had 20 points and Alan Henderson added 19 but was scoreless in the fourth quarter as the Hawks lost for the fifth time in six games. Atlanta had 18 turnovers and Dikembe Mutombo was held to 10 rebounds, five below his league-leading average. "We just need to get guys back on tops of their games, and if we can get that, we're going to be fine," coach Lenny Wilkens said. "We're in a lot of close games. Teams aren't overwhelming us. I feel we have a lot of room for growth, and I like that." The Hawks cut it to 99-96 on Rider's two foul shots with 1:38 remaining and had a chance to get closer when Jason Terry stole the inbounds pass. But Rider missed an 18-footer and Charlotte's Brad Miller got the rebound, leading to Wesley's foul-line jumper that made it 101-96 with 60 seconds left. The Hornets sealed it by making seven of eight free throws in the last 28 seconds. After being down by 18 early in the second half, the Hawks gradually worked their way back, cutting it to 82-76 in the final minute of the third quarter on Henderson's three-point play. But Anthony Mason hit a short jumper in the lane at the other end, and Charlotte's Eddie Robinson followed by stealing an errant pass. It set up a fast-break dunk by Bobby Phills that pushed the Hornets' lead back to double digits heading into the fourth quarter. Charlotte put Atlanta in a hole thanks in large part to Wesley, who had eight points, two assists and a steal as the Hornets broke it open with a 24-7 run in the first quarter. The surge helped the Hornets build their lead as high as 17 on the way to a 32-18 lead after a first period in which Charlotte outrebounded Atlanta 14-4.
Game notes | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Atlanta Clubhouse Charlotte Clubhouse RECAPS Charlotte 108 Atlanta 104
San Antonio 105
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