ATLANTA -- The Charlotte Hornets have been better on the road of late, but the Hawks still have their number in Atlanta.

Center Al Horford had his 200th career double-double and the Hawks took advantage of Charlotte's early shooting woes for an 87-76 victory Sunday.

Horford had 16 rebounds to go with 13 points and the Hawks (33-27) won the season series against Charlotte with their 16th victory in the past 18 games against the Hornets in Atlanta.

Charlotte, which won five of its previous six road games, couldn't come all the way back after shooting 9.5 percent in the first quarter and 22 percent up to intermission.

"They missed some looks, but I thought our energy was great to start the game," said Horford, who also had six assists. "Our guys were flying around and contesting."

Down by 24 points in the second quarter, the Hornets (30-28) closed the deficit to two points five minutes into the fourth quarter with 11 straight points, but the Hawks then went on a 13-2 streak to regain control.

"I felt we responded well to their run and we were able to take off again," Horford said.

"The game was won in the first quarter," Charlotte coach Steve Clifford said. "They had a lot more readiness to start than we did. You dig that big of a hole against a good team, it's going to be hard to win."

The Hawks placed five players in double figures, led by forward Kent Bazemore with 14 points.

"You're looking at a hungry group of guys right now," Bazemore said. "It's getting down to nitty-gritty as far a playoff position and each game matters."

Guard Jeff Teague had nine assists and the Hawks had helpers on 29 of their 38 baskets, shooting 49.4 percent to 33.3 percent for Charlotte.

"I thought our [defensive] rotations were great. We weren't hesitating at all," Bazemore said. "We knew they were going to make a run. But we did our work early and that kind of gave us elbow room."

Hornets guard Kemba Walker, averaging 20.7 points, scored just nine points. He was 3-for-15 overall and 0-for-7 on 3-point attempts.

Forward Marvin Williams had 16 points and nine rebounds for the Hornets, while guard Jeremy Lin scored 13 points off the bench.

"It's tough. Obviously, Atlanta is a great team, especially defensively," Williams said. "We did a good job getting back into the game. We just got off to a poor start."

Charlotte was 2-for-21 in the first quarter and found itself down 25-9 when guard Tim Hardaway Jr. tossed in a shot from near midcourt at the buzzer.

The Hornets missed 16 straight shots over a 10-minute stretch, including their first eight from behind the 3-point arc.

Atlanta, which shot 55.7 percent in the first half, led 36-12 four minutes into the second quarter before Charlotte finally got untracked to close to 46-32 at halftime after three straight 3-pointers by Williams.

The Hornets outscored Atlanta 11-2 to start the second half to pull within 48-43, but the Hawks countered with a 12-0 run and were up 68-57 going into the fourth quarter.

The Hawks got 33 points off the bench, with Hardaway scoring 11 on 5-for-8 shooting.

"Our second unit is doing a good job of pushing the tempo," Hardaway said. "We're competing our butts off and doing whatever it takes to help us win."

NOTES: The Hawks are reportedly interested in filling their vacant roster spot with 12-year veteran F Kris Humphries, who is being bought out by Phoenix. "We're continuing to look for opportunities ... to add to our group," coach Mike Budenholzer said. The deadline for making players eligible for the postseason is Tuesday and Humphries is on track to clear waivers by then. He started this season with Boston and Phoenix is his fifth NBA stop. The Hawks earlier made plays for C Anderson Varejao and G/F Joe Johnson. ... The Hornets, who haven't played in Charlotte since Feb. 8, will have 10 home games in March beginning on Tuesday against Phoenix. ... The Hawks follow a five-game homestand with five straight road games beginning at Golden State on Tuesday.