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Mason helps Hornets to 10th straight home win vs. Wizards

Jan 13, 2007 - 5:27 AM OKLAHOMA CITY (Ticker) -- Desmond Mason and the New Orleans continue to keep the Washington Wizards guessing.

Mason had 22 points and eight rebounds and reserve Jannero Pargo scored 13 of his 19 in the decisive fourth quarter as the Hornets captured their 10th consecutive home win against the Wizards, a 104-97 victory.

The Hornets have not lost at home to the Wizards since a 95-77 setback on November 1, 2000 when the franchise was located in Charlotte.

In the last meeting against Washington here, David West drained the game-winning jumper as time expired for a 97-96 triumph on February 13.

Gilbert Arenas - who entered ranked second in the NBA in scoring - scored five straight points for Washington, which sliced the deficit to 91-90 with 3:13 remaining.

However, Mason converted a tough three-point play and Pargo later scored on a fast-break layup to help the Hornets open a 96-90 advantage with 1:10 remaining.

"Sometimes in this league if a guy misses a few shots, they don't really focus on playing defense," Mason said. "So I think we took advantage of mismatches, and caught a few guys sleeping on the defensive end."

DeShawn Stevenson's 3-pointer from the right corner pulled the Wizards within 98-95 30 seconds later. But on the Hornets' ensuing possession, Pargo found Linton Johnson for an easy two-handed jam, sealing the win.

"He (Pargo) did a great job," Hornets coach Byron Scott said. "I told him, 'your job is to shoot the ball', and I think he finally got that into his head. He has played well and I think we are using him in a role that he is more used to where the pressure of running the offense is off his shoulders and he can just go out and score."

Pargo, who signed a two-year, $2.1 million contract in the offseason, made 6-of-10 shots - including 3-of-5 from the arc - and handed out four assists.

"They kind of played off me a bit, and if you give me a little bit of room, I am going to shoot," Pargo said. "I had a turnover, Coach told me to do what I do, and I took it upon myself to get out and score. We can't be afraid to take big shots, but they are only big if they go in."

Rasual Butler scored 20 points and Devin Brown chipped in a season-tying 19 and a career-high nine assists for the Hornets, who shot 54 percent (42-of-77) from the floor.

The Hornets have rolled off two straight wins since enduring their second five-game losing streak, which was stopped with Wednesday's 96-77 win at Atlanta.

"I think we had a lot more confidence than we did the last few times a game has come down the the fourth quarter," Scott said. "Getting the win against Atlanta the other night helped us beat a very good basketball team."

Arenas collected 23 points and eight assists and Stevenson netted a season-high 22 for Washington, which shot 46 percent (37-of-79) and forced 21 turnovers.

Arenas connected on just 5-of-19 shots, including 2-of-7 from 3-point range. With his 20-point effort Wednesday, it marked just the second time he failed to score at least 24 points in consecutive games.

"I started off pretty good, but then I missed a couple easy shots," Arenas said. "It was just one of those weird nights where they just beat us when we went small. When we needed to hit shots, I couldn't get it done. Just a weird night."