NBA scores 2016: The Hawks and the Hornets are bringing the East back to life

Charlotte narrowly won a duel between the two on Friday. But between them both, the Eastern Conference is as strong as ever.

by Tim Cato

Updated Nov 19, 2016, 3:59 PM UTC

Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

With six straight wins entering Friday, the Atlanta Hawks had the league’s best streak and were tied for the NBA’s best record. A late Dwight Howard ejection and a Charlotte Hornets team playing equally great basketball was the only thing that stopped that streak from reaching seven.

The top tier in the NBA has already been established — the Warriors and the Cavaliers top that list, of course, and the Clippers have given us enough evidence to be included there as well. The second tier is strong this season, and for one of the few times in the past decade, it’s slanted towards the Eastern Conference.

The Hawks and the Hornets are both clearly in that second tier, and they showed why in a back-and-forth affair on Friday. In fact, Atlanta led by three before this Howard elbow led to him getting kicked out. (There’s a chance Howard really didn’t mean to do it, but the ejection seems fair either way in my eyes.)

The Hawks didn’t have enough after that, being outscored 14-7 the rest of the way. That said, Atlanta struggling in Howard’s absence only points to how brilliant he has been the rest of the year. In the 31 minutes Howard did play, he had 10 points and 18 rebounds. This season, he’s averaging nearly 15 points and more than 12 rebounds.

Atlanta has picked up right where they left off despite losing Al Horford to Boston this summer. Howard is anchoring the league’s second-best defense (95.2 defensive rating), while Dennis Schroder’s first year as a starter is going splendidly, averaging 16 points and six assists on 45-percent shooting from the floor.

Still, we shouldn’t gloss over Charlotte, who did still win this game. They improved to 8-3 while handing Atlanta its third loss of the year on the strength of an impeccably balanced offensive attack. Kemba Walker’s 21 points on 20 shots is actually disappointing given the magnificent and efficient season he’s had so far. Cody Zeller — the recipient of that Howard elbow — scored 23 points on 9-of-10 shooting, while Nicolas Batum dropped a 24-and-10 double-double.

The Hornets aren’t stopping teams quite at the same rate as the Hawks, but their 99.1 defensive rating still puts them fourth in the league. They’re No. 6 in net rating and just shy of the top-10 in offense, all due to a combination of pieces that just fit perfectly together despite a lack of a true “star.”

Both Atlanta and Charlotte fall firmly in that “just below the superteams” tier. Throw Toronto in there, and maybe the Celtics once they get healthy. The only team in the Western Conference who really has a case is San Antonio, sitting at 9-3. It’s hard to say that the power dynamic in the league has shifted from the West when they still have the Warriors, but teams like the Hawks and the Hornets are making a strong case for it.

The Lakers’ veterans are fun, too

Los Angeles had a tie game against San Antonio at halftime, before eventually falling 116-107. We’ve talked at length about how they’re a fun team, but on Friday, it wasn’t just the youngsters making things fun. Look at these veterans, man!

Nick Young — whose fantastic start on both ends may be one of the league’s most shocking developments — dropped 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting, and Lou Williams went for 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting off the bench. The young “core four” was mostly quiet outside of Jordan Clarkson, with D’Angelo Russell missing the game with a sore knee. But the Lakers still avoided losing by double figures, and you can think the boring old vets for that.

This pass is the play of the night

Zaza Pachulia has embraced the arrogance

Let’s play a word association game.

Pachulia: humble, great teammate, professional. Warriors: flashy, pretty arrogant, braggadocious.

If you were wondering which style would win out, I think we have our answer.

Friday’s 5 top performances

Russell Westbrook (30 points, 13-21 shooting, 11 rebounds, 13 assists)

That’s the fourth triple-double for Russ in 13 games.

Anthony Davis (38 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists)

Thank goodness one of these monster Brow games finally ended in a win. I was feeling terribly for him. (Also, Jrue Holiday back!)

Emmanuel Mudiay (25 points, 10-18 shooting, 6 rebounds, 9 assists)

Mudiay had been struggling this year — he’s still shooting 35 percent from the floor — so a game like this is a good to see. That said, he was still 0-of-7 from deep.

DeMarcus Cousins (38 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists)

Kawhi Leonard (23 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals)