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West, Paul lead Hornets to victory in first preseason game

Oct 6, 2008 - 1:42 AM NEW ORLEANS (Ticker) -- David West scored 19 points and Hilton Armstrong added 14 off the bench as the New Orleans Hornets opened their preseason slate with a 106-103 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Sunday.

Chris Paul had 13 points and six assists for the Hornets, who had one of the best seasons in franchise history in 2007-08, securing the second seed in the tough Western Conference before losing to the San Antonio Spurs in the conference semifinals.

An All-Star duo last season when the game was played at New Orleans Arena, West and Paul were in fine form in this one, combining to shoot 14-of-16 from the field.

Newcomer James Posey, who was a key cog off the bench for the defending champion Boston Celtics, scored nine points on 4-of-7 shooting for New Orleans, which hopes to use the versatile forward in a similar role.

While the Hornets should be one of the top teams in the West, the Warriors are just trying to stay afloat in the ultra-competitive conference. Golden State had a tumultuous offseason, which included the departure of star guard Baron Davis in free agency and an injury to guard Monta Ellis.

Newly acquired Corey Maggette, who signed a five-year, $50 million deal in the offseason, scored 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting for Golden State, which started seldom-used C.J. Watson thanks to the turmoil in its backcourt.

Sharpshooter Marco Belinelli, who also impressed in the preseason last October, scored 14 points while newcomer Ronny Turiaf collected six and seven rebounds off the bench for the Warriors.