Charlotte's first night without LaMelo ends in boos
A sellout booed the Hornets off the floor at the half. Atlanta won 128-81, the largest margin in Hawks history.
NBA wire ·
| 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Hawks | 33 | 35 | 29 | 31 | 128 |
| Charlotte Hornets | 20 | 23 | 19 | 19 | 81 |
The trade that sent LaMelo Ball to Minnesota was already unpopular in Charlotte. Friday was the first home game without him, a sellout, and the building let the team hear it. The Hawks led by 25 at half. The Hornets were booed as they walked off. The final was 128-81. Forty-seven points is the largest margin of victory in Atlanta franchise history, one more than a 126-80 win over Sacramento on Nov. 15, 2017.
Jalen Johnson had 19 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. Aaron Wiggins scored 19 off the bench on 7 of 9 shooting. All five Hawks starters reached double figures, Nickeil Alexander-Walker with 14 and C.J. McCollum with 13. Atlanta forced 14 turnovers in the first half and turned them into 15 points the other way. Naz Reid led Charlotte with 17. Moussa Diabate had eight rebounds. That is not a box score you post on the way out of your own arena.
Two nights earlier these Hornets had won in Brooklyn without Ball, without Coby White, without Kon Knueppel, and it looked like a new team. At home, in front of the people who wanted Ball kept, it looked like the trade. The boos were the story. The 47 points just made them fair.