Home court hasn’t offered the Atlanta Hawks much of an edge this season. On Sunday night, they finally made it matter.

In just their third home victory, the Hawks escaped with a 113–110 win over the Charlotte Hornets at State Farm Arena, leaning on a historic performance from Jalen Johnson and a game-saving defensive play by Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Atlanta improved to 11–7.

After watching a 10-point fourth-quarter lead slip away, the Hawks steadied themselves in the final minute. Johnson halted Charlotte’s surge with a turnaround jumper, and Alexander-Walker followed with a driving layup that restored a one-point lead with 1:05 remaining. On the next possession, Alexander-Walker stripped Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel under the basket, tracked down the loose ball and went to the line. He split the free throws, giving Atlanta a two-point cushion.

The Hawks forced Hornets forward Miles Bridges into an off-balance, air-balled 3-pointer as time expired, sealing the win.

Alexander-Walker said he trusted a move he has relied on throughout his career when he went for the decisive strip.

In a postgame explanation of the play, Alexander-Walker said he committed fully to his instincts. “I know I had a few swipe-down fouls early, and I kind of trusted it more times than not. I get those. So I just kind of stuck to my guns in that moment, just so instinctual, kind of reading the play, knowing that when he spins where the ball was going to be, and just trying to make a play.”

Johnson anchored Atlanta’s offense throughout the night and finished with 28 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds without committing a turnover. He became the first Hawks player since at least 1977–78, when turnovers were first tracked, to record at least 25 points, 10 assists, five rebounds and zero turnovers in a game.

The Hawks also received strong contributions from Onyeka Okongwu, who had 20 points and seven rebounds, and Dyson Daniels, who delivered a season-high 22 points with nine rebounds and six assists.

Atlanta’s defense came up repeatedly in the final possessions. With 32 seconds left, the Hawks stopped Knueppel on a driving attempt, then denied a tip-in chance from Moussa Diabate moments later. Vit Krejčí secured a defensive rebound before being tied up, but he won the ensuing jump ball to maintain possession.

Johnson said the Hawks’ defensive personnel gives them confidence in tight moments.

Johnson pointed to the team’s backcourt defenders as keys to the final stand. “We got some elite defenders on this team. I mean, Dyson and Nickeil are the head of the snake on defense, and I mean Nickeil just made a big play at the end, and it’s gonna be tough scoring on them in isolation like that. So yeah, it was a big stop.”

The Hawks also generated energy late in the fourth quarter when Keaton Wallace intercepted a pass from Bridges and went coast-to-coast for a one-handed dunk with 2:21 to play, igniting the home crowd.

Wallace said he saw the passing lane develop on the play. “Miles Bridges is a good player, so I had to stay into his body. I seen the play coming for him, so stayed into his body, and they kind of left me a gap to try to shoot the gap, and I went for the steal, got a fast break dunk.”

Alexander-Walker’s scoring consistency continued as well. His performance marked his seventh game this season with at least 20 points, the most he has recorded in a single season.

The Hawks head to Washington on Tuesday for their third NBA Cup group-stage game. Atlanta sits sixth in East Group A after splitting its first two matchups, with a long-shot path to advance after Toronto clinched the group at 3–0.