By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Atlanta Hawks displayed one of their best shooting performances in the ongoing NBA regular season after torching the Charlotte Hornets with 22 made three-pointers during their lopsided 134-102 victory on March 19, 2025.
Atlanta came out piping hot in the contest and sucked the life out of Charlotte as their early barrage of treys steered them to a comfortable 13-point lead at the half, 70-57.
Trae Young was in the zone since the ball was tipped off and stunned the Charlotte crowd on the road with an array of offensive moves including an unconscious state of shooting the leather at the start of the third.
After setting up his teammates in the first half, Young went beast mode when the third period kicked off and kissed the crowd several times moments after he hit a ridiculous three-pointer.
Young knew the Eastern Conference battle was done when he pulled off a hesitation shimmy on Seth Curry to knock down the step-back three-pointer. The Charlotte crowd instantly turned into fans after the dazzling point guard converted a tough reverse layup that forced the home team to call another timeout while facing a 34-point disadvantage.
It was in the third when the Hawks turned the game into a shooting exhibition as they outscored the Hornets, 36-23, which ballooned their cushion to as much as 36 points.
Facing a massive hole at the start of the final canto, Charlotte just decided to throw the white towel with eight minutes remaining in the game.
The Hornets never won a quarter in the entire game and got drowned by Atlanta’s sweet shooting night with a 22/45 team total shooting stat line.
What also made things difficult for the banged-up Charlotte squad was their 17 turnovers which led to 22 points off TOs for the Hawks.
The Hornets got lazy in protecting their possessions which also allowed Atlanta to run the break and record a total of 19 fast break points while also giving up 15 second chance markers.
In just 30 minutes of playing time, Young capped off the one-sided victory with an incredible all-around effort of 31 points, eight assists, two rebounds, and three steals.
The spitfire guard shot an efficient 11/20 from the field and scorched hot from downtown after making five out of his nine total attempts from the three-point line.
Dyson Daniels and Zaccharie Risacher also stepped up for the Hawks as the young two-way duo combined for 43 points, 15 boards, and nine dimes.
After an exhausting road trip, Atlanta will head back home on March 23, 2025, and will take on Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors in a highly-anticipated inter-conference showdown.
