By Tiffany Williams –
Wednesday night the Atlanta Hawks kicked off the 2023-24 season on the road at Charlotte. Tonight’s matchup is just the second time in franchise history the Hawks met Charlotte in their first game of the season.
The Hawks fell to Charlotte 110-116. It was the first season opener loss for the Hawks who have won each of their past four season-opening matches.
Trae Young led the Hawks with 23 points, one rebound and nine assists. Young, with his tenth point in tonight’s loss became the eighth Atlanta Hawk to reach 9,000 career points, and is the youngest player in franchise history to record 9k.
Young also extended his streak of five-or-more assists to 108 straight regular season games and for the 87th time in his career, Young made at least 10 free throws in a game.
Jalen Johnson recorded 13 points on 5-7 shooting and six rebounds in tonight’s opening half, marking a career-high for points in any half of his career. It also marked his sixth career half with 10-or-more points and five-or-more boards. Johnson finished the night with 21 points, seven rebounds and two assists.
Saddiq Bey and Clint Caela both had 15 points tonight. Capella had 13 rebounds while Bey had just five rebounds and set a new career-high for steals in a game with his fifth theft tonight. Bey now has 200 career steals, becoming the fifth member of the 2020 draft class to record 200 career steals. Capela recorded the 258th double-double of his career and his 119th as a Hawk.
Next up for the Hawks is their home opener Friday night at State Farm Arena and the first of three contests between New York and Atlanta this season. The Hawks and Knicks split the regular season series 2-2 last season, with the Hawks securing a victory in Madison Square Garden on November 2, 112-99, and a 139-124 win on January 20 at State Farm Arena.
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