Hornets rip Spurs to grab 2-0 NBA playoff edge

AFP ©

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AFP) - Chris Paul scored 30 points and added 12 assists to power the New Orleans Hornets past defending National Basketball Association champion San Antonio 102-84 here Monday.

Serbia's Peja Stojakovic scored 25 points, sinking 5-of-7 from 3-point range, and David West added 10 points for the Hornets, who took a two games to none lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference second-round playoff series.

"Our guys were a little more aggressive as far as what we were going to take away from them," Hornets coach Byron Scott said.

"They made some slight adjustments. We had to adjust to those. But our guys pretty much carried out our game plan all night long."

The Spurs, led by 18 points and eight rebounds from Tim Duncan, dropped the first two games of a playoff series for the first time since the 2001 Western Conference final, when the Los Angeles Lakers swept them on the way to a title.

The series shifts to San Antonio for games Thursday and Sunday but the Spurs, bidding for their fifth NBA title in 10 seasons, have been outplayed and outhustled twice by the younger Hornets, who won game one 101-82 on Saturday.

"The goal is to get to four games and they are a lot closer than we are," Duncan said. "The important thing is to go home and get the first one. We can worry about the other things after that."

The Hornets won for the 17th time in their past 18 home playoff games, including a perfect 8-for-8 in the playoffs at home.

On the eve of his 23rd birthday, flamboyant playmaker Paul attacked the Spurs' defense and passed off to his teammates when shut off from the basket while hitting 11-of-20 from the field when the opportunities came.

"My teammates and my coach told me to be aggressive. I knew when I got into the lane I had to shoot the ball," Paul said. "I'm just trying to lead my team in the playoffs. It's just my third year. I have got a long way to go."

French guard Tony Parker hit a 3-pointer at the half-time buzzer to put the Spurs ahead 43-42 but Stojakovic answered with a 3-pointer to open the third quarter and ignite a 10-0 Hornets run to start the second half.

"We're playing against a very good team," Parker said. "Twice we did the same mistake. They jumped on us in the third quarter. We just have to figure out a way to play better in the second half, especially in the third quarter."

The Hornets pulled to their largest lead at 74-56 late in the third quarter and while the Spurs trimmed the deficit to 78-61 after three quarters, they could never close the gap again, faster and flashier New Orleans dominating.

"The third quarter, we came out with a lot more energy," Scott said. "We came out with five stops in a row and scored after all of them and that really got us going."

The Hornets outscored the Spurs 36-18 in the third quarter, hitting 12-of-21 from the field in that quarter, and by the start of the fourth quarter, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was cleaning out his bench in a vain search for answers.

"We were trying to win. It's not about sending messages," Popovich said. "We put a group out there, played a zone for a while. They did a pretty good job, cut it to 11 or 12. We put the starters back in. It just didn't work out."

San Antonio's Manu Ginobili hit only 4-of-10 shots, the Argentine guard finishing with only 13 points, while Parker was just 5-of-14 from the field for only 11 points.

The Spurs made 15 turnovers to only eight for the Hornets, who outrebounded San Antonio 41-40 thanks to 11 boards from Tyson Chandler and 10 more by West.