CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Atlanta Hawks posted the biggest blowout in franchise history in Charlotte on Friday night, routing the Charlotte Hornets 128-81 to stay unbeaten early in the season.
The 47-point margin broke the old club record of 46, set when Atlanta beat Sacramento 126-80 on Nov. 15, 2017.
Jalen Johnson paced the Hawks with 19 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. Aaron Wiggins matched his 19 points off the bench while hitting 7 of 9 shots, and every Atlanta starter reached double figures, with Nickell Alexander-Walker scoring 14 and C.J. McCollum 13.
Atlanta took control early. The Hawks forced 14 Charlotte turnovers before halftime, turned them into 15 fast-break points and went to the locker room up 25. The lead kept growing after the break and reached 49 in the fourth quarter as a sellout crowd of 19,524 turned on the home team.
Charlotte, which won 44 games last season, was missing Kon Knueppel and Grant Williams with hamstring injuries and starting point guard Coby White with a calf problem. Brandon Miller, days after signing a five-year, $209 million extension, made just 1 of 11 tries from three-point range and finished with six points.
It was also Charlotte’s first home game since the club dealt away star point guard LaMelo Ball, a trade that did not sit well with local fans, and the Hornets heard loud boos walking off at halftime. Hornets coach Charles Lee said before tipoff that he had no timetable for his injured players but that all three were progressing in rehab.
Both teams came in at 1-0. Atlanta finished 46-36 a season ago.
The Hawks play their home opener Saturday against the Houston Rockets in Atlanta.
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