Hawks 95, Hornets 86: Josh Smith scored 10 of his 23 points during the third quarter as visiting Atlanta doubled up New Orleans in the period to post its fifth win in six outings.
Smith also reeled in a team-high 13 rebounds to go over 5,000 in his career. Al Horford had 20 points and Zaza Pachulia added 12 and 10 rebounds for the Hawks, who outscored the Hornets by a 28-14 margin in the third quarter.
Ryan Anderson had a team-high 23 points for the Hornets and Greivis Vasquez flirted with a triple-double for the second time in three games. The Western Conference Player of the Week had 17 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds.
With New Orleans nursing a 50-44 halftime advantage, Atlanta dominated the interior before Smith nailed a pair of long-range jumpers to give the Hawks a 57-55 lead. Smith exploited the middle with a pair of layups as Atlanta seized a 72-64 advantage after three quarters.
Anderson drilled a pair of 3-pointers in the fourth to bring New Orleans within two at 81-79, but Anthony Tolliver and Kyle Korver answered with 3-pointers to keep the Hawks ahead.
GAME NOTEBOOK: After coming off the bench to score 24 points in his season debut, Eric Gordon finished with 11 on 5-of-17 shooting versus the Hawks. ... Atlanta saw its streak of four straight games with 10 or more 3-pointers come to an end. The Hawks went 9-for-22 from beyond the arc. ... The Hawks did not go to the free-throw line during the first half. They finished 4-of-8.
Atlanta | New Orleans | |
Josh Smith 23 | Scoring | Ryan Anderson 23 |
Jeff Teague 8 | Assists | Greivis Vasquez 10 |
Josh Smith 13 | Rebounds | Anthony Davis 13 |
Kyle Korver 2 | Free Throws Made | Greivis Vasquez 2 |
Josh Smith 3 | Steals | Jason Smith 2 |
Josh Smith 4 | Blocks | Anthony Davis 4 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Atlanta | 95 | 49.4 | 9-22 | 4-8 | 30 | 39 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
New Orleans | 86 | 43.9 | 10-20 | 4-12 | 20 | 47 | 5 | 3 | 13 |