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Hornets continue bid for final West playoff spot

Mar 20, 2007 - 3:04 PM New Orleans (30-37) at Memphis (17-50) 8:00 pm EDT

MEMPHIS, Tennessee (Ticker) -- The New Orleans Hornets need a strong final four weeks of the season if they hope to sneak into the playoffs.

Beating the Memphis Grizzlies, who own the worst record in the league, should be mandatory for the Hornets.

New Orleans has won two of its last three games to pull within 1 1/2 games of Golden State (32-36) for the final postseason Western Conference playoff berth.

After playing Memphis, the Hornets will have tough games against the Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs.

New Orleans star point guard Chris Paul plans to continue playing with an injured foot for the remainder of the season and will sit out practices along the way. Shooting guard Peja Stojakovic has missed most of the season after back surgery, leaving Paul as the main option on offense.

Rasual Butler scored 18 points off the bench and Tyson Chandler added 16 and 11 rebounds in the Hornets' 106-88 win over Boston on Monday. Paul collected 15 points and six assists.

The Grizzlies have lost eight of 10 games, but managed a 104-103 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Saturday. Mike Miller scored 25 points and pulled down 12 rebounds.

This will be the final meeting of the season between the Southwest Division rivals, with New Orleans holding a 2-1 advantage.