Atlanta Hawks rout Charlotte Hornets 128-81 for the largest win in franchise history as Dyson Daniels gets 7 steals

The Atlanta Hawks beat the Charlotte Hornets 128-81 at Spectrum Center on Friday, October 23, the largest margin of victory in franchise history. The 47-point win beats the 46-point mark from a 126-80 rout of the Sacramento Kings on November 15, 2017, and Atlanta is 2-0.

Jalen Johnson had 19 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds, Aaron Wiggins scored 19 on 7-of-9 shooting off the bench, and all five Hawks starters reached double figures. Dyson Daniels had 11 points, 9 rebounds and 7 steals as Atlanta forced 27 turnovers. Charlotte fell to 1-1 in its first home game since trading LaMelo Ball, and the sellout crowd of 19,524 booed the home team.

The Great Barrier Thief racked up 7 STEALS tonight 😤

11 PTS | 9 REB | 4 AST | 7 STL

Dyson Daniels and the @ATLHawks improve to 2-0! pic.twitter.com/Rp16BQi0rU

— NBA (@NBA) October 24, 2026

Video: NBA / X.

How it turned

Atlanta led 33-20 after the first quarter. Charlotte was still within 56-43 after a Grayson Allen three with 4:38 left in the half, and then the Hawks scored the next 18 points. Johnson had a pullup, a layup and back-to-back dunks off Daniels passes before the break, and Atlanta opened the third with layups from Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Onyeka Okongwu and Daniels to make it 74-43.

The run kept going. Okongwu banked in a 29-foot running shot, Johnson dunked, and Luguentz Dort made three free throws to make it 87-50 with 3:47 left in the third, a 31-7 stretch in all. Atlanta led 97-62 after three quarters and by as many as 49 in the fourth.

Corey checked in WARM pic.twitter.com/aZpLPKEXxP

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) October 24, 2026

Video: Atlanta Hawks / X.

The numbers

Atlanta had 17 steals and 37 assists. Alexander-Walker scored 14, CJ McCollum 13, Corey Kispert 11 off the bench and Okongwu 10. The Hawks scored 25 points off Charlotte’s turnovers.

Charlotte’s side

Naz Reid led the Hornets with 17 points but had 7 turnovers. Charlotte made 11 of 51 threes. Brandon Miller, who signed a five-year, $209 million extension this week, scored 6 points on 2-of-14 shooting and 1-of-11 from three. The Hornets were without Kon Knueppel (hamstring), Coby White (calf) and Grant Williams (hamstring).

What’s next

Both teams play again on Saturday, October 24. The Hornets host the Miami Heat at 6 p.m. ET (1 a.m. Sunday Cairo time), and the Hawks host the Houston Rockets at 8:30 p.m. ET (3:30 a.m. Sunday Cairo time).

Full box score and play-by-play: Game Center. All-time head-to-head.