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West, Hornets rout Jazz

Dec 18, 2010 - 4:42 AM New Orleans, LA (Sports Network) - David West scored a game-high 23 points, as the New Orleans Hornets easily handled the Utah Jazz, 100-71, at New Orleans Arena.

Marcus Thornton contributed 19 off the bench, and Chris Paul finished with 11 points and 10 assists for the Hornets, who have won two straight since dropping three in a row.

Trevor Ariza added 17 points and seven boards, and Jarrett Jack recorded 10 points for the victors, who absolutely killed Utah on the boards, 53-24.

"If you look across the board we had guards with seven rebounds, eight rebounds," stated Hornets head coach Monty Williams. "It's all about effort with the Jazz. I think we played hard for about 45 minutes tonight and down the stretch we finished it."

Paul Millsap led the Jazz with 14 points, and both Deron Williams and Al Jefferson added 10 for Utah, which has alternated wins and loses in its last eight games.

West paced the Hornets with 12 first quarter points, as New Orleans held a 21-14 lead entering the second.

After a Jack driving layup with just under seven minutes in the first half, the Hornets' lead was 37-22, and New Orleans widened the gap to 20, 48-28, with a short Paul floating jumper in the final 1 1/2 minutes.

The Hornets shot 61.9 percent in the second quarter en route to a 50-33 advantage at halftime.

A Marco Belinelli three at the midway point of the third gave New Orleans a 29-point advantage, its largest of the game. The Hornets shot 75 percent from the field in the quarter, including 3-of-6 from beyond the arc, to take a 81-54 lead into the final stanza.

Utah conceded in the fourth, allowing all five starters to watch from the bench, as the Hornets' lead hovered around 25 down the stretch.

"They man-handled us the whole game," Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan said. "They beat us in every quarter. They played great, they pushed the ball up the floor, drove around us, dunked over us and everything else. We just didn't have any answers."

Game Notes

Utah won the first meeting, 105-87, on November 24...The Jazz began a four- game road trip Friday...Utah had won four straight in the series, and the last Hornets win was on January 4, 2010...The Jazz's 71 points are a season- low...Emeka Okafor grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds in the loss.