Charlotte Hornets swingman Nicolas Batum was really dishing the rock in Thursday night's 129-117 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. In his 40 minutes of playing time, the former 25th overall pick in the 2008 Draft recorded 10 points on 4-9 shooting from the field (2-4 from beyond the arc), a career-high 16 assists and 10 rebounds, marking his second triple-double performance of this season.
Nicolas Batum dishes career-high 16 assists en route to his 2nd triple-double of the season (10/10/16) for the @hornets! #BuzzCity pic.twitter.com/5PWooJ9IeK
— NBA (@NBA) March 16, 2018
❗️A TRIPLE-DOUBLE FROM NIC BATUM❗️ 10pts/10reb/16ast for @nicolas88batum in tonight's win over the Hawks! Those 16 assists are a CAREER HIGH and also the most assists by any player in a triple-double in franchise history 💪 #BuzzCity https://t.co/NMOcKJyR0t
— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) March 16, 2018
The Hornets came into Thursday night's game as losers in six of their last seven games. They were ranked 10th in the Eastern Conference standings, six and a half games behind the 8th-seeded Miami Heat. With their win over the Hawks, Charlotte has crept within six games of a Playoff berth. However, just 13 games remain in the season.
“I liked the energy,” Hornets head coach Steve Clifford told ESPN during Thursday's postgame media availability. “I liked the purpose of play. For the most part, our defense was good.”
"I liked the energy and I liked the purpose of play."
–@hornets Head Coach Steve Clifford on what stood out to him in tonight's win.#BuzzCity #CHAatATL pic.twitter.com/HrWOmU7mhd
— Bally Sports: Hornets (@HornetsOnBally) March 16, 2018
According to ESPN, Batum's previous high in assists was 14, which he recorded on Jan. 8, 2014 while playing for the Portland Trail Blazers.
"We did a good job on offense of moving the ball."
–@nicolas88batum on the @hornets impressive performance.#BuzzCity #CHAatATL pic.twitter.com/yMjNNmER7s
— Bally Sports: Hornets (@HornetsOnBally) March 16, 2018
Without a doubt, Batum, now 29 years of age, is an important member of the Hornets organization. In his 55 games played this season, the savvy Frenchman has racked up averages of 12.1 points on 41.8 percent shooting from the field (34.3 percent from beyond the arc), 5.6 assists and 4.9 rebounds.
Batum and the Hornets, now 30-39 overall, will be back in action on Saturday night, as they're scheduled to face the New York Knicks inside Madison Square Garden. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. EST with FOX Sports Southeast and the MSG Network having live broadcast coverage.