CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Charlotte Hornets rallied from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter for a 100-96 victory over the Atlanta on Friday night, snapping the Hawks' six-game winning streak.

They have Dwight Howard's elbow to thank for it.

Howard was ejected for a Flagrant 2 foul with 5:38 remaining and the Hawks leading 89-86, as he landed a hard elbow to the jaw of Cody Zeller as the two were battling for rebound position. From there the Hornets caught fire, scored nine straight points, and then made big play after big play down the stretch.

"That was a momentum shift right there," Atlanta's Paul Millsap said afterward. "It just completely turned the game around. They took that and fueled it to the fire, the crowd gets into it and they're at home. What can you say?"

Howard insisted the foul was not intentional, but he was hardly apologetic.

"That's basketball," he said.

The Hornets (8-3) had trailed 85-75 with 9:49 remaining. It marked the sixth time this season that the Hornets have rallied to win after trailing by double digits. That's the most by any team in the NBA so far this season.

"I think that just shows what kind of team we are," Zeller said. "We're going to fight no matter if we're up or down 10. That's a good recipe for success."

"They're at home, they had energy, so give them credit," Millsap said. "They knocked down shots when they needed to. But this is tough. We've had double-digit leads throughout the season and we lose them, for whatever reason. We've got to keep our focus throughout the whole course of the game."

Nicolas Batum led the Hornets with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Zeller finished with 23 points, and Kemba Walker caught fire in the second half to finish with 21 points, six assists and five rebounds. Walker, who came into the game averaging 25.8 ppg, did not make a field goal in the first half.

Millsap led the Hawks (9-3) with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Kent Bazemore scored 19, Mike Muscala and Dennis Schroder scored 11 each, and Howard finished with 10 points and 18 rebounds.

Zeller said he didn't think the elbow from Howard was intentional, although the two had been going at each other much of the game. Zeller had seemingly taunted Howard by hanging onto the rim after a dunk in the second quarter.

"I don't think it was anything dirty," Zeller said of the Flagrant 2. "He's so much bigger than me, I think he went to hit me in the chest and he wound up hitting me higher. It was physical all night. He's a physical player so I just tried to match his intensity and play hard."

The 9-0 Hornets run started with two free throws by Zeller. Then Walker went to work, hitting two sensational spinning, reverse layups on consecutive possessions and then nailing a 3-pointer for a 95-89 lead with 2:36 remaining.

Atlanta got as close as 95-94 on Kyle Korver's 3-pointer with 1:18 remaining, but then Michael Kidd-Gilchrist answered with a three-point play with 1:01 remaining, and Zeller cemented the victory with a dunk with 38.6 seconds remaining.

"You always say you want to play your best when your best is needed," Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. "To go 25-16 in the fourth was the difference in the game. Obviously it's a good win against a really good team."

Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer took the loss philosophically.

"We made runs, they made runs," Budenholzer said. "A couple more made baskets here or a couple more stops and we could have won. But against a good team, on the road, I think these are the types of games you can learn from, you can get better from, and I think we'll do that going forward."

NOTES: The Hawks were without G Thabo Sefolosha (sprained knee). ... The Hornets also rallied from a 14-point deficit to win at Minnesota 115-108 on Tuesday. ... The Hawks were coming off a 107-100 win over Milwaukee on Wednesday. ... The Hornets led the NBA in fewest turnovers in each of the past three seasons, and they're leading the league again this season, averaging 10.9 per game. They committed 11 Friday night. ... The Hawks lead the league in turnovers forced (17.6 per game) and rank second in field goal percentage (48.0 percent), assists (26.2) and steals (10.2). ... The Hornets were without G Jeremy Lamb (strained hamstring) for the eighth straight game but he is hoping to return soon. ... The Hornets will play at New Orleans on Saturday. ... The Hawks will continue on the road for a game at New York on Sunday afternoon. They were starting a stretch with seven of their next eight games on the road.