Charlotte Hornets’ Dwight Howard gets his revenge on Atlanta Hawks

Charlotte Hornets center Dwight Howard really wanted to stick it to the Atlanta Hawks for trading him last June. He made his statement late in the fourth quarter.

Playing one foul away from a disqualification, Howard went after a layup by former teammate Kent Bazemore. That clean block projected the Hornets to a 121-110 home victory. Howard finished with 18 points and 15 rebounds, making 10 of his 14 free throws.

Hornets point guard Kemba Walker finished with 29 points, making five of his 10 3-pointers.

The Hornets completed a five-game homestand 3-2. They improved overall this season to 20-27. The Hawks fell to 14-34, 0-2 this season against the Hornets.

Three who mattered

Walker: He’s been in a shooting slump of late, but hit three of his first five 3s.

Taurean Prince: Demonstrated a knack for getting to the foul line.

Bazemore: He made six of his first eight shots for the Hawks, including three of four from 3-point range, and finished with 26 points..

Observations

▪  Howard said he wanted to “kill” the Hawks in this game, after the team traded him to the Hornets in June. It was the first time in Howard’s 14-season NBA career he changed teams without it being his idea.

▪  Miles Plumlee, who went to the Hawks in the Howard trade, is now starting at center for Atlanta. The half-season he spent with Charlotte was utterly forgettable, and the Hornets were lucky to move on from his huge guaranteed contract.

▪  Hornets coach Steve Clifford’s biggest concern going into the matchup with the Hawks was Atlanta’s proficiency converting turnovers into points. A big part of that is Hawks point guard Dennis Schroeder’s speed dribble. The Hornets limited their first-half turnovers to three, and the Hawks had only two fast-break points in the first half to the Hornets’ 11.

▪  Howard drew his 11th technical foul of the season in the second half. Unless one or more of those has been rescinded, Howard is five technicals this regular season away from an automatic one-game suspension.

▪  Charlottean DeAndre Bembry missed the game for the Hawks with a left adductor strain.

Worth mentioning

▪  The Hornets had a red-hot start to this game, making their first five shots from the field, but then went 6-of-17 the rest of the first quarter.

▪  The Hornets wore black “Buzz City” uniforms for the first time this season. They’re modified from the previous version when Adidas provided NBA uniforms; they no longer have sleeves.

▪  Starting with Saturday’s game in Miami, 10 of the Hornets’ next 12 games are on the road.

Report card

C- OFFENSE: The foul shooting – particularly by Howard – was OK. The rest, not so much.

D DEFENSE: The Hawks have played better of late, but this game illustrated the Hornets’ defense has never hit a stride.

C COACHING: They got by, but this was ugly.

This story was originally published January 26, 2018 at 9:46 PM with the headline "Charlotte Hornets’ Dwight Howard gets his revenge on Atlanta Hawks."