Atlanta Hawks forward Maurice Evans, left, and New Orleans Hornets centre Hilton Armstrong battle for a loose ball in the second half. In the background is New Orleans Hornets forward David West. (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/Bill Haber)

The Hornets' two rookies left the New Orleans Arena with bright-coloured, glittery suitcases specially selected for them by veterans, Darren Collison's with a "Little Mermaid" theme and Marcus Thornton's emblazoned with Tinkerbell's smiling visage.

"It keeps us grounded, I'll tell you that much," Collison said. The way Collison and Thornton are playing lately, the Hornets might want to think of other ways to keep their egos in check. Collison had season highs of 22 points and 11 assists for his first double-double, Thornton scored a season-best 21, and New Orleans won its third straight while snapping the Atlanta Hawks' seven-game winning streak, 96-88 on Saturday night.

"When you're a rookie you've got to come in and make a name for yourself," said Thornton, who in fact joined the Hornets with plenty of name recognition already, having starred at LSU last season. "Me and Darren from Day 1 when we came in, we knew we could play this game, and we just stuck together throughout ... and we prevailed today."

The resurgent Hornets made 12 of 17 three-pointers, with Peja Stojakovic hitting five during a 17-point outing. David West had 12 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks.

Elsewhere in the NBA it was: New York 98 New Jersey 91; Cleveland 97 Philadelphia 91; Milwaukee 103 Memphis 98; San Antonio 106 Washington 84; Houston 113 Sacramento 106; Denver 112 Chicago 93; Utah 100 Detroit 97 (OT); and Portland 106 Minnesota 78.

At New Orleans, Jamal Crawford scored 20 for the Hawks, who became the second straight division leader to lose in New Orleans after Phoenix fell to the Hornets on Thursday night.

"We really wanted this win, but they came in with confidence," said Joe Johnson, who scored 14 points for the Hawks. "Marcus Thornton was definitely the story of the game. We really didn't have an answer for him. Their guard play really helped then get over the hump. ... They shot lights out form the three-point line."

Marvin Williams scored 17 points for Atlanta, and Josh Smith added 14 points and 10 rebounds, but the Hawks went 4-of-22 from three-point range.

The Hawks also lost Mike Bibby to a sprained left ankle in the first quarter.

"He's a big part of what we do and we don't know how long he'll be out," Atlanta coach Mike Woodson said. "We have enough guys and they will have to step up and pick up the slack."

New Orleans led throughout the second half, withstanding every Atlanta surge. Collison and Thornton, drafted in the first and second rounds, respectively, showed poise when it mattered, as they have in three straight games.

After Maurice Evans' driving layup as he was fouled pulled Atlanta to 59-56, Collison came back with a three and fast-break dunk. When Crawford's jumper made it 64-60 late in the third quarter, Collison hit his second three, then West followed with a driving layup off the glass and Thornton a breakaway dunk to make it 71-60 heading into the fourth quarter.

Thornton created shots with slashing moves to the hoop and took open jumpers with confidence and without hesitation. He scored 10 points in the final period, notching one three-point play on a tough driving layup into a crowd and later hitting his second three-pointer of the game to make it 81-71.

"His confidence for a young guy is as high as I've seen in this league," Hornets assistant coach Tim Floyd said. "He comes in really believing that he belongs."

Al Horford had 10 points and 11 rebounds.

The Hornets outshot the Hawks 43.5 per cent to 37.2 per cent. Emeka Okafor had 10 rebounds and blocked three shots.

Atlanta jumped out to a 10-2 lead largely because of poor early shooting by New Orleans, which started 1-of-11 from the field. Bibby left the game during that stretch.

Soon after, Stojakovic got in rhythm from long range, hitting four straight three-pointers during a 16-3 run that gave New Orleans an 18-13 lead.

New Orleans continued to pull away for much of the second quarter, going ahead 45-31 after Okafor's block sent Collison the other way for a fast-break layup.

Atlanta responded with a 9-0 run, highlighted by Williams' three and dunk to close the gap. Collison's jumper as the shot clock wound down gave the Hornets a 49-42 lead at halftime.

Knicks 98 Nets 91

At East Rutherford, N.J., Al Harrington and Danilo Gallinari each scored 17 points, and struggling New York beat the winless New Jersey Nets.

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Cavaliers 97 76ers 91

At Cleveland, LeBron James scored 32 points, Mo Williams added 18 and the Cavaliers clamped down defensively in the fourth quarter, holding Philadelphia to 10 points over the final 12 minutes.

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Bucks 103 Grizzlies 98

At Memphis, Tenn., rookie Brandon Jennings scored 24 of his 26 points in the second half, and Milwaukee won its third straight game..

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Spurs 106 Wizards 84

At San Antonio, Tony Parker scored 17 points, and Tim Duncan had 16 points and nine rebounds to help the Spurs snap a three-game losing streak.

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Rockets 113 Kings 106

At Houston, Luis Scola scored 22 points and grabbed key rebounds in the final minutes, and the Rockets held off Sacramento..

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Nuggets 112 Bulls 93

At Denver, Carmelo Anthony scored 30 points and Chauncey Billups had 21, leading the Nuggets to their 15th straight regular-season home victory.

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Jazz 100 Pistons 97 (OT)

At Salt Lake City, Carlos Boozer scored 18 of his 22 points in the second half and overtime to lead Utah to its fourth straight victory.

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Trail Blazers 106 Timberwolves 78

At Portland, Ore., Martell Webster had 21 points and 13 rebounds, Brandon Roy added 18 points, and the Trail Blazers handed Minnesota its 12th straight loss.