Final
Paul takes over in fourth to lead Hornets
Mar 1, 2007 - 6:17 AM OKLAHOMA CITY (Ticker) -- New Orleans Hornets coach Byron Scott was very critical of the play of Chris Paul and Devin Brown in their previous game. The starting guards got the message.Paul had 24 points and 13 assists and led a fourth-quarter surge, and Brown knocked down four 3-pointers to lead the Hornets to their season-high sixth straight home victory, 107-100, over the Atlanta Hawks.
Tyson Chandler notched his 20th double-double in his last 26 games with 18 points and 13 rebounds for New Orleans, which has won 16 of its last 24 games and remained one-half game behind the Los Angeles Clippers for the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot. The Clippers beat Seattle on Wednesday.
"The All-Star break is over and now we are in a playoff push, and hopefully this is the start of something good for us," Brown said.
Paul had just seven points and five assists in a 97-89 loss to Cleveland on Tuesday. Brown was scoreless on two shots in 19 minutes against the Cavaliers after shooting 1-of-11 against Seattle.
"CP and Devin Brown played a lot better than they did last night," Scott said. "They played with a lot more emotion and energy that simply wasn't there against Cleveland. Chris Paul is our playmaker and he was smart and aggressive, got a lot of other guys involved early, and let the game come to him, especially in the second half.
"Tonight was one of those games where there was a team effort but I was pleased to see CP and Devin Brown play better than they did last night." After Brown tallied 14 of his 19 points in helping the Hornets to a 59-50 halftime lead, Paul personally put away Atlanta by accounting for 19 points down the stretch.
"It's all about confidence. With Devin, I think that first three he hit with no time on the shot clock gave him a boost that carried him through the rest of the game," Paul said. "It was on from there, and the same with me; once I hit a few shots in the second half, we started to roll."
"We just came out and took it right to them, and if we are going to make the playoffs that is what we have to do every night," Brown said. "We answered the bell tonight. Coach Scott challenged us after last night and in the shootaround this morning, but we answered the bell, now we have to try and find a way to do this on the road."
With the Hornets holding an 84-80 lead, Paul started his burst with a straightaway 3-pointer with just over seven minutes left. He fed Desmond Mason for a dunk before knocking down a perimeter jumper and a turnaround jumper in the lane for a 92-82 lead with 4:31 remaining.
The reigning Rookie of the Year then knocked down another perimeter shot and two free throws for a 96-89 edge with 2 1/2 minutes left.
The 6-0 point guard then drilled a fallaway jumper from the right baseline and made a pretty feed for a layup to David West for a 100-91 edge with 75 seconds left.
After a 3-pointer by Josh Smith got Atlanta within 103-100, Paul knocked down two free throws with 14 seconds remaining.
"First half of the game was like the game in Cleveland last night," Paul said. "We were playing at their tempo. In the second half, we finally got a chance to get out and run by getting stops on the defensive end and getting in the passing lanes."
Paul entered the fourth period 1-of-10 from the floor.
"Chris Paul is a tough little player," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. "Tonight he makes play after play down the stretch. We would get close and he would close the door in our face."
Brown connected on all four of his season high-tying 3-pointers in the opening 24 minutes and finished 7-of-12 from the floor for his highest-scoring game since knocking down 24 against Philadelphia on January 23.
"I hadn't been shooting the ball well, but people have been calling me and telling me to get it going again, and I think I did that tonight," Brown said.
Joe Johnson scored 28 points for Atlanta, which has lost four of its last five games.
"We hurt ourselves tonight, our defense would foul instead of play defense," Woodson said. "We needed to win the free throw and rebounding game, and we did neither. We got pushed around on the boards as well."
West had 17 points and 14 rebounds and Chandler shot 5-of-6 from the floor and added six offensive rebounds as the Hornets held a 46-32 edge on the backboards.
"Tyson's aggressiveness has been contagious," Scott said. "David has been doing a heck of a job lately and the guys coming off of the bench have been doing a good job. Tonight was one of those games where there was a team effort."
- AT OKLAHOMA CITY OK
NBA ATLANTA 100
NEW ORLEANS 107 FINAL
Feb 28 10:31 PM - AT OKLAHOMA CITY OK
NBA ATLANTA 76
NEW ORLEANS 77 END, 3RD QTR
Feb 28 9:48 PM - AT OKLAHOMA CITY OK
NBA ATLANTA 50
NEW ORLEANS 59 HALFTIME
Feb 28 9:04 PM - AT OKLAHOMA CITY OK
NBA ATLANTA 30
NEW ORLEANS 27 END, 1ST QTR
Feb 28 8:35 PM
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