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West, Paul lead Hornets past Grizzlies

Mar 21, 2007 - 5:12 AM MEMPHIS, Tennessee (Ticker) -- With their playoff hopes fading, the New Orleans Hornets looked to David West to rectify the situation.

West scored 26 points and Chris Paul added 23 and nine assists as the Hornets posted a 114-103 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.

Tyson Chandler had 16 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks and Rasual Butler added 15 off the bench for the Hornets (31-37), who closed to within a game of Golden State (32-36) for eighth place in the Western Conference playoff race.

"We have to keep fighting," Hornets coach Byron Scott said. "Nobody's going to let up at this point in the season. It doesn't matter who you play.

"This was a good test for our guys, and there are going to be tests the rest of the way. We have to be ready every night."

With the scored tied at 61-61 at the half, West, who connected on 10-of-15 from the floor, scored 10 points in the third quarter to help the Hornets take a 92-81 lead entering the final period.

"We had some guys step up and get hot," Paul said. "David got going and Butler hit some big shots that kept us in it with them. In the end, though, we were able to make the difference on the defensive end."

"We had no answer for Chris Paul tonight, and David West is an All-Star as far as I'm concerned," Grizzlies coach Tony Barone said.

Desmond Mason had 14 points and reserve Jannero Pargo added 11 for the Hornets, who have won six of seven vs. the Grizzlies.

"Chris runs this offense well," Chandler said. "He does a good job of getting us all involved, and we had some guys get hot at the right times tonight. It was good win to get on the road."

Pau Gasol had 28 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for Memphis, which was looking to win consecutive games for the first time all season.

"It's frustrating to keep losing games that we should win," Gasol said. "We think we're good enough to win any game we're in. Tonight, we were with them the whole way, but we had some breakdowns in the second half that cost us. We have to play hard the whole game."

Mike Miller had 13 points but did not score after the first quarter for the Grizzlies, who allowed the Hornets to shoot 60 percent (42-of-70) from the field.

"I got in some foul trouble early, and that kind of took me out of my rhythm a bit," Miller said. "Bottom line is the shots didn't fall."