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.

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.”

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.

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.