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Hornets beat Clippers, end three-game slide

Nov 25, 2007 - 7:32 AM LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- A trip to Tinseltown was just what the New Orleans Hornets needed.

Peja Stojakovic scored 22 points and David West chipped in 18 and eight rebounds as the Hornets ended a three-game losing streak with a 98-89 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday.

After winning a season-high five straight games, the Hornets were slowed down some by injuries to Chris Paul and Tyson Chandler, but now fully healthy, things returned to normal.

"Overall, we played much better," Stojakovic said. "We played as a team. We knew we were coming in with a three-game losing streak, but we were focused."

In the second quarter, Stojakovic nailed an 18-footer which sparked an aggressive 12-8 surge that helped the Hornets grab a 55-48 edge at intermission.

"We get into our offensive rhythm on the defensive end," Stojakovic said. "If we take care of our defense and our rebounds, we can get into our offense. Usually, good defense leads to good offense."

"We're not a good enough team to be able to spot people points on careless plays and be able to make it up," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. "Those are the elite teams that have a ton of firepower and know they're going to get more possessions in the game, and they're going to dominate."

However, Los Angeles rallied back to draw within 87-82 at the 6:28 mark in the decisive quarter on Ruben Patterson's driving layup to cap a 12-3 burst.

But Paul connected on a pull-up jumper from the right elbow and then fed Morris Peterson for a 3-pointer, giving New Orleans a 94-84 edge with 3:54 remaining.

The Clippers trimmed the deficit down to five points once again, but Paul answered one more time with his jumper from the right baseline over Quinton Ross with 40 seconds to go.

"It was a very good way to end the road trip especially after the way we have been playing the last few days," New Orleans coach Byron Scott said. "We have not been playing well, but now we can go back home and get ready for the next week. It was a good win for us."

Chandler poured in 12 points and Paul had 11 and 10 assists and for New Orleans, which shot 46 percent (37-of-80) from the field and made 8-of-15 3-pointers.

Cuttino Mobley scored 20 points and Chris Kaman registered his ninth double-double for the Clippers, who have dropped four of their last five games.

"It is a long season, but as of right now that's the way it is," said Clippers forward Tim Thomas, who had 13 points and 12 boards. "It is probably going to be us and them fighting for a (playoff) spot, maybe the last spot depending on how the season plays out. We just did not get it done."