Charlotte, NC (SportsNetwork.com) - Paul Millsap netted 28 points and the Atlanta Hawks continued their recent dominance over the Charlotte Bobcats with Monday's 97-83 triumph from Time Warner Cable Arena.
Pero Antic tallied 11 points and 10 rebounds for Atlanta, which won for the fourth straight time overall and 11th in a row against the Bobcats. Kyle Korver and Mike Scott donated 10 points apiece, and Jeff Teague handed out a game-high nine assists.
Al Jefferson double-doubled for the fourth time in five games, finishing with 16 points and 12 boards for Charlotte, whose four-game winning streak came to an end. Gerald Henderson also scored 16 while Kemba Walker had a team-high 20 with seven assists.
"Even when we were up, we just weren't focused," said Jefferson. "We have to learn from this game."
The Bobcats trailed 8-2 early on but countered with an 11-0 run to jump in front, 13-8, after a pair of Henderson free throws. A 3-pointer by Antic was the only basket for Atlanta during a draught that spanned nearly seven minutes.
Charlotte led by as many as 10 points and owned a 28-22 margin after the first.
The two teams played to a relative tie in the second quarter despite a wide disparity in shooting. Atlanta shot 55 percent in the frame while Charlotte hit just a 36 percent clip, however, the Bobcats still took a 52-46 lead into the locker rooms.
Charlotte's poor shooting continued into the third quarter, where everything was bouncing Atlanta's way. The Bobcats hit a putrid 4-of-21 from the field in the period, while Millsap and Korver combined to net 21 points on 8-of-9. Millsap and Teague hit consecutive triples during a 10-1 run midway through the stanza, and Elton Brand's jumper before the buzzer extended the spread to 76-68.
The Hawks put things away with an 14-4 start to the fourth quarter. DeMarre Carroll scored all nine of his points during the surge.
"DeMarre really sets the tone for us," said Atlanta head coach Mike Budenholzer. "With his activity and his energy, everybody kind of feeds off that."
Game Notes
Atlanta won the rebounding margin, 51-42, and outscored the Bobcats 38-24 in the paint ... Walker shot 4-of-6 from 3-point range. The rest of the Bobcats made just 5-of-19 ... All 11 Bobcats that took the floor scored at least two points ... Charlotte turned the ball over just six times.
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