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Paul leads Hornets past Timberwolves

Feb 3, 2007 - 6:03 AM OKLAHOMA CITY (Ticker) -- After a subpar effort in his first game back from injury, Chris Paul bounced back in a major way.

Paul scored 24 points and handed out eight assists as the New Orleans Hornets posted a 90-83 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Tyson Chandler had 16 points and tied a season high with 18 rebounds for the Hornets, who on Wednesday welcomed back Paul after the 2006 Rookie of the Year missed 17 games with a sprained right ankle.

"I was able to get a couple of loose rebounds tonight," Chandler said. "I was aggressive tonight and it was a great win for our team."

In his first outing back, Paul only had nine points on 4-of-11 shooting and dished out just two assists as the Hornets lost to Philadelphia, 89-78.

Against Minnesota, Paul connected on 9-of-13 shots and made four steals as the Hornets won for the fourth time in five games.

"Tonight, he was Chris Paul," Hornets coach Byron Scott said. "The last game, he was just trying to find his way around. He looked totally comfortable out there tonight."

Reserve Jannero Pargo had 13 points and Desmond Mason added 12 and seven rebounds for the Hornets, who shot 44 percent (37-of-85) and committed just seven turnovers.

"On both ends we were aggressive, and it was something that we kept talking about in our huddle," Scott said. "We needed to be aggressive and smart on the offensive end when we pushed it. On the defensive end, it was all about staying aggressive on Kevin Garnett and the other guys."

"We had a killer instinct tonight," Pargo added.

Mark Blount scored 21 points and Garnett - just named to his 10th NBA All-Star Game - had 17 and 13 rebounds for Minnesota, which has lost eight of its last 10 games.

"We took a step back tonight," Garnett said. "So tomorrow we have to look at some film and try to take a step forward next game"

Ricky Davis had 13 points and six assists and rookie Randy Foye added 10 points for the Timberwolves, who shot 39 percent (33-of-85).

"We had four fast-break opportunities that we just threw away," Wolves interim coach Randy Wittman said. "That's eight points right there.

"In a low-scoring game, eight points that are not jump shots but layups weren't executed. We just have no regard for the ball in transition sometimes."