CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Rookie Brandon Miller had 26 points as the Charlotte Hornets beat the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday, securing the team's first three-game winning streak of the season as they head into the All-Star break.
The Hornets (13-41) took the lead in the second quarter and stayed in front the rest of the game. Charlotte stretched their lead to 23 points by the end of the night, winning 122-99.
It's the first time the Hornets have won three straight games since March 2023. All three wins during this streak have come after Charlotte added five players at the NBA trade deadline last week. Those five players -- Seth Curry, Tre Mann, Grant Williams, Davis Bertans, and Vasilije Micic -- contributed 61 points during Wednesday's win.
Miller, who is following up on a Rookie of the Month Award-winning January, is having an even better February. He finished with 26 points and four assists. Mann had 21 points and eight rebounds. Miles Bridges had 17 points.
Deandre Hunter led the Hawks with 21 points. Jalen Johnson had 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Hawks.
Atlanta held an early 31-29 lead after the first quarter. But an efficient second quarter gave the Hornets a 61-55 lead heading into the locker room. Miller had 11 points in the period.
The Hornets kept the momentum going in the third quarter, putting up 35 points and extending the lead to 16 points at the start of the fourth quarter.
In the final period, the Hawks pulled within 10 points but Charlotte essentially cruised to an easy win -- a concept not even possible for Hornets fans to think about just over a week ago.
The Hornets sit roughly 11 games behind Atlanta for play-in-game contention with 28 games remaining. The odds of Charlotte closing that gap are minuscule but after a three-straight win for the new-era Hornets, the sky is the limit.
Charlotte will look to make it four straight wins against the Utah Jazz on Feb. 22 after the NBA All-Star break.
