Rookie Trae Young scored 18 points in 28 minutes but the Hawks fell to the Hornets 108-94 in Charlotte on Wednesday night.
Another first-year player, Kevin Huerter, scored 12 for the Hawks, whose two-game winning streak ended.
Young was 7 of 19 from the field, 3 of 9 on 3-pointers, and had four assists and five turnovers.
Jeremy Lamb had 22 points for Charlotte, which won despite getting no points from ex-Hawk Marvin Williams in his 22 minutes on the court.
The Hawks topped the Hornets 124-123 on Sunday night at home when John Collins blocked Kemba Walker's shot at the buzzer. But this one wasn't close.
Charlotte (11-10) limited Atlanta to 34 percent shooting from the field to move back above .500 on the season and improve to 8-3 at home.
Walker, who came in averaging 27.9 points per game, finished with 19 points while battling through an off shooting night. He was 6 of 19 from the field and 6 of 10 from the foul line.
The Hawks (5-17) play at the Oklahoma City Thunder Friday at 8 p.m.
Support real journalism. Support local journalism. Subscribe to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution today. See offers.
Your subscription to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution funds in-depth reporting and investigations that keep you informed. Thank you for supporting real journalism.