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Hornets rally past lowly Kings

Dec 16, 2010 - 5:28 AM New Orleans, LA (Sports Network) - Marcus Thornton scored 19 points off the bench and had a big tip-in late in regulation that all but sealed New Orleans' 94-91 comeback win over Sacramento and helped set a Hornets record.

Chris Paul finished with 22 points and 11 assists, while David West provided 11 points, nine rebounds and seven helpers for the Hornets, who overcame a 23- point deficit in the second half to win for the second time in seven games.

It was the largest comeback victory in Hornets franchise history.

Tyreke Evans and Beno Udrih scored 22 and 20 points, respectively, for the Kings, who have one win in their last 12 games.

New Orleans trailed by as many as 23 in the third quarter but whittled the deficit down to 77-69 by the end of the frame.

The hosts tied it at 83-all on two Marco Belinelli free throws with 5:01 showing, and took their first lead of the second half, 89-88, on a tough baseline bucket from Thornton two minutes later.

Paul added a layup the next time down, and the Kings missed their next three shots.

Following a traveling violation on DeMarcus Cousins with 40 seconds to go, West was off the mark on a jumper from the right wing. Thornton, though, got good position inside and had two attempts at a tip-in, getting the second one to fall with 17.3 seconds remaining.

"It felt good. At the end of the play I started screaming," Thornton said of his big basket. "This is one of those games to get us going."

Udrih's errant three at the other end sealed the outcome.

Evans' layup prior to the first quarter buzzer gave the Kings a 29-23 lead.

Carl Landry scored 11 points of his 13 points in the second to extend the margin to 57-41 at the break.

The Hornets continued to struggle offensively and found themselves down 66-43 following Donte Greene's three-pointer 3:12 into the third.

The hosts finally hit their stride a little later, as West's three-point play with 4:23 left ignited a 15-2 run. Thornton's three-pointer cut the deficit to 72-65 with two minutes on the clock.

"We could feel it happening and we just didn't reverse it," Kings head coach Paul Westphal said of the Hornets' run in the third. "The defensive intensity we had earlier just wasn't there."

Game Notes

Evans missed Sacramento's previous game with plantar fasciitis...Cousins also scored 13 points for the Kings, who went to the line just 12 times, making seven, while New Orleans converted 22-of-30 from the stripe...Willie Green and Emeka Okafor each netted 10 for the Hornets...The Hornets have won three straight in the series...New Orleans' previous largest comeback was 22 points against Boston on November 26, 1995.