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Stojakovic, Paul help Hornets end long skid against Mavericks

Dec 2, 2007 - 5:39 AM NEW ORLEANS (Ticker) - The New Orleans Hornets are finally earning some respect from the Dallas Mavericks.

Peja Stojakovic sent the game into overtime with a 3-pointer and Chris Paul put an exclamation mark on another outstanding game with a jumper late in the extra session as the Hornets defeated the Mavericks, 112-108, on Saturday.

Jannero Pargo scored 11 points in the final nine minutes for the Hornets, who had lost 21 straight games to the Mavericks dating to November 1999 when the franchise was located in Charlotte.

"It is a great feeling to beat Dallas," Paul said. "This has been a long time coming and it was good to get a win especially against a team as good as Dallas. They know how to win games. In the huddle, coach told us that we need to learn how to win games like this and Peja gave us the opportunity with the last shot in regulation."

New Orleans forced overtime when David West inbounded from the left sideline to Stojakovic, who came off a pick and swished a 3-pointer over DeSagana Diop from the left corner with 2.9 seconds left.

"I had Chris (Paul) coming up as a decoy, but I wanted Peja to get a good look in that corner," Hornets coach Byron Scott said. "I knew they would either switch or he was going to have a pretty good look at it. I thought Josh (Howard) did a good job of coming out and challenging it, but just like he can, Peja hits big shots and that was a great one for us."

"Anytime you depend on a last-second shot, your chances are slim," Stojakovic said. "But, we played hard and were a little lucky tonight and I was glad to be able to make that shot."

Dirk Nowitzki had a good look at a 3-point shot at the buzzer, but it bounced off the back rim - the sixth straight miss to end regulation for the Mavericks.

"Our guys were hanging in there. We were battling," Dallas coach Avery Johnson said. "We were rebounding. We were getting after it. We left everything out there on the floor. The game should never have gone into overtime."

Pargo, who scored his first six points of the game late in regulation, opened the extra session with a 3-pointer from the left corner then drove the lane for a layup for a 107-104 lead with 2:48 left.

"We came through down the stretch," Paul said. "Jannero came up big for us. We needed a contribution from the bench and he answered the call."

Paul hit a step-back jumper from the right elbow for a 109-106 lead with 57 seconds left. He then iced the game with two free throws with 10 seconds remaining.

Paul finished with a season-high 33 points and 12 assists for his ninth double-double of the season. He also had nine rebounds and three steals while making all 10 of his free throws.

Jerry Stackhouse scored 14 straight Dallas points in the third period and Jason Terry scored 13 points in the fourth period to put the Mavericks on the brink of their third straight triumph.

"We showed a lot of poise tonight and we never got rattled," Paul said. "Great teams are going to make runs on you, and Dallas is a great team. But it seemed like every time Dallas hit us with a punch, we got back up."

Stojakovic had four 3-pointers and finished with 22 points and Tyson Chandler added 21 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks for the Hornets, who have won three of four after three straight losses.

Nowitzki, Terry and Howard finished with 19 points each for Dallas, while reserve forward Brandon Bass, a Baton Rouge native and former Hornet, scored 13 points and blocked three shots in his return home.