The short-handed Hawks won despite Young (left calf contusion) and reserve Danilo Gallinari (right foot soreness) sitting out along with John Collins, De’Andre Hunter, Cam Reddish, Tony Snell and Kris Dunn.
Miles Bridges led the Hornets (27-25) with 23 points, and Terry Rozier had 18 points.
The Hawks built a 24-7 lead in the early going, holding the Hornets to just 2 of 13 from the field.
Charlotte battled back to take its first lead midway through the third quarter behind Rozier, who knocked down a pair of 3s from the top of the key. Charlotte later pushed its lead to double digits in the fourth behind back-to-back driving layups from trade deadline pickup Brad Wanamaker.