Chicago Bulls forward Joakim Noah (right) has his shot blocked by Denver Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin in the third quarter of their NBA game in Denver yesterday.

New York: New Orleans Rookie Darren Collison notched his first NBA double-double with 22 points and 11 assists yesterday as the Hornets ended Atlanta’s seven-game winning streak.

Fellow rookie Marcus Thornton scored 21 for the Hornets, who made 12 of 17 three-point attempts in a 96-88 victory.

“When you’re a rookie you’ve got to come in and make a name for yourself,” Thornton said yesterday.

“Me and Darren from day one when we came in, we knew we could play this game, and we just stuck together ... and we prevailed today.”

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

The Hawks had the additional blow of seeing starting guard Mike Bibby sprain his left ankle in the first quarter and depart the game.

Bibby appeared to roll the ankle while coming down from a jump shot about five minutes into the game.

“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 of Bibby.

“We have enough guys and they will have to step up and pick up the slack.”

The Hornets led all of the second half as they turned back every Hawks challenge.

Collison and Thornton, drafted in the first and second rounds, respectively, showed poise when it counted.

Thornton drove to the basket and took open jump shots with confidence.

He scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, including a three-point play on a driving layup.

“Marcus Thornton was definitely the story of the game,” said Atlanta’s Joe Johnson.

“We really didn’t have an answer for him.”

Meanwhile, the Cleveland Cavaliers held the Philadelphia 76ers to just 10 fourth quarter points to rally for a 97-91 win yesterday, LeBron James leading the home team’s assault with a 32-point effort.

James added nine assists and seven rebounds while Mo Williams chipped in 18 points for a fast-finishing Cavaliers, who trailed 81-75 heading into the fourth quarter. “Defensively, everyone was on a string,” Cleveland coach Mike Brown told reporters.

“Everyone helped one another. Everyone trusted one another. It was great to see.”

Philadelphia struggled on 4-of-23 shooting in the fourth quarter as the Cavaliers tightened up its defense after the Sixers had scored 30 points in the third to storm into the lead.

“Credit their defense. They’re a good defensive team when they want to be,” Philadelphia coach Eddie Jordan said.

“They’re going for the gold, man.

“They’re doing what they think is necessary to win the championship.”

It was the 10th win in 12 games for the Cavaliers (10-4) after losing their first two games of the season.

The Cavs were still without the injured Shaquille O’Neal, who has missed the last five games, as well as playing their fourth game in five days.

“We just turned it up. When we’re playing defense like that at a high level, it’s hard to beat us,” James said.

It was the second consecutive game in which the Cavaliers stifled their opponents with a solid fourth quarter defensive effort after they held the Indiana Pacers to just 13 points in a 105-95 win on Friday.

The Cavaliers dominated the entire final quarter, with an early 18-4 run turning the deficit into a 93-85 lead.

Lou Williams scored 22 and Thaddeus Young added 21 for Philadelphia.

Andre Iguodala had 12 points but made just one shot in the final quarter.

“We couldn’t make shots and finish the game off,” Iguodala said after the Sixers slipped to 5-8 with the loss.