Anthony Davis had 29 points and 13 rebounds to help New Orleans win for the sixth time in seven games, a stint which includes victories over several contending squads including Dallas and the Los Angeles Clippers.
Jeff Teague scored 21 for Atlanta, but the Hawks fell behind by double digits in the first quarter and failed to even tie it.
Eric Gordon scored 20 points for New Orleans, while Tyreke Evans scored 15 points and tied a season high with 12 assists for the fourth time in five games.
Cleveland's Kyrie Irving scored 24 points, and LeBron James added 18 points and 11 assists as the Cavaliers staggered to their 11th straight win 97-84.
The winning streak is Cleveland's longest since reeling off 13 in a row — a franchise record — in 2010, the last season of James' first stint with the club. The Cavs had trouble putting away the young Philadelphia Sixers, who did all they could to stay close but don't have the firepower to keep up with Irving, James and one of the NBA's hottest teams.
At Oklahoma City, Russell Westbrook's second triple-double of the season and 10th of his career helped the Thunder defeat the Orlando Magic 104-97 without the injured Kevin Durant.
Westbrook, an All-Star point guard, had 25 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds.
Durant sat out with a sprained big toe on his left foot.
Victor Oladipo scored 22 points and Nikola Vucevic scored 20 points for the Magic, who lost their ninth straight.
The Charlotte Hornets downed the Washington Wizards 92-88 after Al Jefferson had 18 points and 12 rebounds.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist added 13 points and 13 rebounds, Brian Roberts scored 18 points, and Gerald Henderson put in 17 for the Hornets.
In other games, Khris Middleton scored 25 points, and Giannis Antetokounmpo had 12 points and 12 rebounds as the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Toronto Raptors 82-75, the Brooklyn Nets edged the Los Angeles Clippers 102-100, the Dallas Mavericks downed the Minnesota Timberwolves 100-94 and the Memphis Grizzlies narrowly beat the Phoenix Suns 102-101.
In Toronto, Khris Middleton scored 25 points, Giannis Antetokounmpo had 12 points and 12 rebounds, and the short-handed Milwaukee Bucks snapped a six-game losing streak against the Toronto Raptors.
Reduced to nine players when guard Brandon Knight was ruled out before the game with a sore right quadriceps muscle, Milwaukee lost another body when guard O.J. Mayo was ejected after picking up a double technical at 4:07 of the second.
Jonas Valanciunas had 12 points and 13 rebounds, DeMar DeRozan scored 16 and Lou Williams 12 for the Raptors, who had won six straight overall.
In New York, Jarrett Jack made a tiebreaking jumper with 1.3 seconds left, and the Brooklyn Nets used a late rally to beat the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Nets ended a seven-game home losing streak by erasing a nine-point deficit in the final 1:35, getting two 3-pointers from Alan Anderson — one a four-point play — one from Joe Johnson and another from Deron Williams in his return from an 11-game absence.
After Chris Paul's layup tied it at 100 with 8.6 seconds to go, Jack lofted a jumper over 6-foot-11 center DeAndre Jordan.
Brook Lopez scored 24 points and Johnson had 22 for the Nets, who snapped an overall four-game skid and won at home for the first time since beating Sacramento on Dec. 29.
