ATLANTA — Terry Rozier hit three throws with 1.1 seconds remaining, and the undermanned Charlotte Hornets overcame a 19-point, third-quarter deficit to end the Atlanta Hawks’ five-game winning streak with a 122-118 victory on Saturday night.
Clint Capela tipped in the miss of Trae Young’s missed runner with 5.4 seconds to go for Atlanta, but Rozier, who scored 16 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter, drew a foul from Jalen Johnson and buried the ensuing free throws to win it.
The Hawks lost when Young, trying to inbound the ball from the right sideline, couldn’t find an open teammate with Mason Plumlee making it tough to put the ball in play. His turnover ended it.
The Hornets, playing without injured leading scorer LaMelo Ball, have won two straight after losing eight of nine. They entered the game 12-34, next-to-last in the Eastern Conference. It was their first consecutive wins since the end of November.
Plumlee finished with a career-high 25 points and P.J. Washington scored 12 of his 23 in the fourth.
Young made one of his last 12 shots and had 25 points. Dejounte Murray scored 26 points and De’Andre Hunter had a season-high 26 for Atlanta.
The Hawks dropped to 13-10 at home. They are 24-23 after beginning the night eighth in the East.
Rozier hit five 3s and scored 17 points of his team’s 36 points in the third as the Hornets chipped away from a 19-point deficit go on a 19-6 run to pull within six on Jalen McDaniels’ 12-footer at the 5:37 mark. A corner 3 by Rozier made it a four-point game, and a pair of free throws by JT Thor trimmed the lead to three, but that was as close as the Hornets would get before Plumlee’s dunk to tie it at it 101 with 6:25 left in the game.
Rozier hit a left corner 3 and the ensuing free throw to put the Hornets up 104-100 with 5:58 remaining. It was their first lead since it was 10-9, but a 3 by AJ Griffin and a steal and dunk by Murray made it 108-104.
Hunter scored 18 in the first half while Murray chipped in 17 and Young had 16. Plumlee, with 13, was the only Hornet in double figures before intermission.
Capela’s fast-break alley-oop dunk put the Hawks up 52-41 late in the second, and they led 65-49 at halftime.