The Atlanta Hawks continued their unbeaten start to the 2026-27 season as they notched a record-margin victory against the Charlotte Hornets with a 128-81 battering on Friday night at Spectrum Center; a winning margin of 48 points. The Hawks’ scoring was led by Jalen Johnson’s and Aaron Wiggins’ 19 points apiece as seven players scored in double-digits. For the Hornets, Naz Reid scored 17 points as they battled without Coby White and Kon Knueppel.
The Hornets took a brief lead in the first quarter as they racked up some offensive rebounds/second chance scoring opportunities, but once the Hawks reeled off an 11-0 run to take a 15-9 lead by the first timeout they would never look back in this game. What was established from quarter one — and would continue all throughout the game, even with the end-of-bench guys in the fourth quarter — was defense. The Hawks made life miserable for the Hornets all night long: from contesting shots, to running the Hornets down to short-clock scenarios (forcing them into tough shots as the 24-seconds loom) to forcing/creating turnovers, it was relentless from the Hawks.
The first quarter margin of 13 points in Atlanta’s favor wasn’t too unusual in an NBA first quarter, but the Hornets’ struggles continued and inside a couple of minutes in the second quarter the lead had risen beyond 20 points. By halftime, the lead had risen to 25, and it didn’t take too long to grow to 30 points in the third quarter.
Dyson Daniels, a menace all night defensively, racked up four steals alone in the third quarter — taking his tally up to seven (!) — as the Hornets scored two points in just under the opening six minutes of the quarter to ensure this game was dead and buried.
The Hornets waved the white flag to begin the fourth quarter, and the Hawks followed suit several minutes later (with one eye on today’s fixture against the Houston Rockets). The defensive intensity with that end-of-bench unit continued, with Dorian Finney-Smith in particular enforcing himself on the defensive end. The lead rose as high as 49 points before finally settling on a 48 point margin of victory, the highest in Hawks franchise history.
Postgame, Hawks head coach Quin Snyder was more so pleased with the manner of the victory more so than the margin of victory.
“We’ve been in this business and, as a player or coach long enough, you’re on both sides of those things,” said Snyder on the record-setting margin of victory. “I think for us it’s more about how we play and I think it’s important for us to keep that focus. We won the game the way we did because we played a certain way and that’s what we need to take from it, as much as anything.”
It’s more so inferring that Snyder was happy with how the Hawks played with a defensive edge and physicality, which was present all throughout the game. Dyson Daniels was excellent in this regard, not just for his headline grabbing seven steals, but he played a key role in guarding the Hornets’ new number one scoring option, Brandon Miller.
“He just finds so many ways to impact the game,” said Snyder of Daniels. “Whether it’s on the offensive glass, defensively making plays, anytime he generates possessions for your team. The more possessions the better. He does that at an elite level. …Playing through him and his ability to give people advantages, he’s a special player.”
The Hornets played poorly in this game, and they continued to throw the same passes in lanes where Daniels was stood, picking them off with ease as the steals racked up, particularly in the third-quarter. His on-ball pressure made Charlotte’s ball-handlers uncomfortable, prompting many errors and mistakes.
For the game, the Hawks recorded 17 steals while the Hornets committed 27 turnovers, leading to 25 points off of turnovers. These elements are part of an identity the Hawks are looking to form.
“We’re trying to develop an identity and that identity is defending, running and sharing the ball,” said Snyder. “When those three things happen, particularly in that sequence when you get stops and we can get out and convert, our ability to convert in transition and take advantage of the stops, or creating some steals, that fuels runs.”
At this point, and several before, I’d love to actually run through defensive clips and how the Hawks excelled, forced turnovers, made Miller’s life difficult etc., and I’d love to share more Hawks quotes, but the NBA has made none of these available as of writing this…
So, instead, let’s run through some quick-fire takeaways from this game:
The Hawks absolutely dominated this game; they outscored the Hornets by 10 or more points in every single quarter. It was impressive that the Hawks’ end-of-bench unit (plus Kingston Flemings) convincingly won against the Hornets’ unit to maintain that margin.
It also highlights the Hawks’ depth — Corey Kispert and Asa Newell were rotation guys last season in the regular season and they could only see game-time when the Hawks are 30+ points clear. From a roster standpoint, there are worse positions to be in! Finney-Smith looked good when he was in the lineup too.
Speaking of the Hawks’ depth, the bench was excellent last night, scoring 61 points led by Aaron Wiggins’ 19 points as he shot 7-of-9 from the field and 3-of-5 from three. Wiggins was part of a second unit lineup that featured Flemings, Alexander-Walker, Wiggins, Dort, and Jock Landale. That lineup has a nice balance of playmaking, shooting, physicality, and size — it was a lineup I’d like to see in action more at this early part of the season.
Speaking of Flemings, I thought he was excellent last night. He scored his first NBA points, but it was his willingness to pass — and the quality of his passing — which really stood out last night. Flemings did an excellent job setting up opportunities for his teammates, racking up eight assists. He set up many more than this assist number credits him for and could have easily had 13 or more assists in this game. Flemings also had some good rebounds, which is an added bonus (six in total last night).
The extended garbage time allowed him a good opportunity for longer minutes, with the Hawks’ winning work allowing them a large margin for further opportunities. Flemings looked great in a backup point guard role, and that’s what the Hawks have sorely missed from a young guard.
Something I’ve enjoyed this season so far is seeing more of Dyson Daniels in ball-screen actions as the screener. I’m not sure his concerns from three-point range will ever really go away, and one way to limit the potential problems that can bring is to involve him in this way. There was a play in the second half where Daniels set the screen for Johnson which led to a basket. I just liked the way the Hawks have used him in this way. Plus, Daniels is great with his off-ball movement and has a good touch at/around the rim with his floater/runner, so he can maybe roll a little on these plays as well.
I thought this was a game that really highlighted the advantages of continuity at this stage of the regular season. Aside from the additions of Dort, Wiggins, and Flemings (important but not on the franchise-changing scale). This is a Hawks side that knows how to play with each other, more so in the case of the starting lineup — they look like they haven’t missed a beat from last season so far.
The Hornets, however, made a decision to cash in on LaMelo Ball’s season and move into the direction of Brandon Miller as the offensive focal point, in addition to integrating major offensive pieces like Naz Reid and Grayson Allen in place of Miles Bridges, who had been around the Hornets for a long time. While the absence of Coby White and Kon Knueppel was clear for the Hornets, that team has a lot to figure out offensively as they figure out what life in a post-LaMelo era looks like and Miller adjusts to his role.
From the Hawks’ perspective, they don’t have to go through growing pains like this: the hierarchy is clear. Last night wasn’t just a win defensively, it was a win for continuity, and as they face teams who have gone through some significant changes there will be chances to take advantage of that lack of continuity.
All in all, a crushing victory for the Hawks, it really was a perfect night for them. Their defensive potential is the big take-home message from this game. It didn’t need a Jalen Johnson triple-double or 31 points from Alexander-Walker or McCollum to ensure a comfortable victory. Atlanta did it with defense, and it just took so much pressure off their offense (which hummed to 50% shooting from the field and 40% from three anyways). A huge margin of victory on the first night of a back-to-back; no one played huge minutes nor needed to play big minutes.
These first two road games weren’t the easiest on paper, particularly Orlando, but the Hawks have come out on top and in an encouraging fashion. Now, the biggest test of their early season comes in their home opener against the Houston Rockets, victorious themselves on Friday night in San Antonio. Should be an enthralling affair for the State Farm opener!
Until next time…
