After an exciting win on Wednesday to tip-off the 2026-27 season for the Charlotte Hornets, the squad was back in action on Friday to open their year at the Spectrum Center.

With no Kon Knueppel, Coby White, or Grant Williams for the second straight game, the Hornets would be short-handed against an Atlanta Hawks game that took down the Orlando Magic 132-125 on Wednesday.

It was a much different night than Wednesday for the Hornets, though.

The team went down double-digits in the first quarter, and that was essentiallt the ballgame. Atlanta led by as many as 39 points against the Hornets, in a wire-to-wire victory where the Hornets were unable to even score 90 points.

With a game against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Miami Heat looming tomorrow, the Hornets fell 128 to 81 on Friday night.

Turnovers

An issue that persisted in preseason, the Hornets struggled to keep the ball on Friday.…