Atlanta Hawks @ Charlotte Hornets
Thursday, December 18, 2025 at 7:00 PM ET
Spectrum Center, Charlotte, NC | Game ID: 22500371
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
CHA 37 43 27 26 133ATL 32 37 26 31 126
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- — LaMelo Ball hit seven first-half 3-pointers in his return from a right ankle injury, Charlotte had 18 in the opening 24 minutes to match the NBA and franchise records and the Hornets beat the Atlanta Hawks 133-126 on Thursday night.
After missing three games, Ball was 7 of 9 from 3-point range in the first half. He finished 8 of 11 on 3s and had 28 points and 13 assists in just over 29 minutes. Charlotte also made 18 3s in a half March 14 at San Antonio. Six teams have done it once.
The Hornets spoiled Atlanta star guard Trae Young’s return from a knee injury. Young had eight points and 10 assists in 20 minutes. He sprained the MCL in his right knee in a game at Brooklyn on Oct. 29.
Jalen Johnson just missed a triple-double for Atlanta, finishing with 43 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists.
Charlotte was 24 of 49 on 3s overall, falling short of the franchise record of 26 set in the March game against the Spurs. Kon Knueppel matched Ball with 28 points, and Brandon Miller had 26. Knueppel was 6 of 12 on 3s, and Miller 4 of 7.
The Hornets improved to 9-18, winning consecutive games for the second time this season. On Sunday, they won at Cleveland in overtime.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 28 points for Atlanta. The Hawks dropped to 15-13. They beat Philadelphia at home Sunday.
CHA KarmaHide StintsShow StintsHide PMShow PMHide KarmaShow KarmaHide ScoresShow Scores
Who
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
ATLAN A. Newell
DD D. Daniels
JJ J. Johnson
LK L. Kennard
MG M. Gueye
NA N. Alexander-Walker
OO O. Okongwu
TY T. Young
VK V. Krejčí
ZR Z. Risacher
CHABM B. Miller
DI Diabate
JG J. Green
KK K. Knueppel
KS K. Simpson
LB L. Ball
MB M. Bridges
MD M. Diabaté
MP M. Plumlee
RK R. Kalkbrenner
SJ S. James
SA Salaun
TS T. Salaün
ATL/CHA the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur