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Paul pushes New Orleans past Clippers

Feb 24, 2011 - 5:55 AM New Orleans, LA (Sports Network) - Chris Paul recorded 19 points, 10 assists and six rebounds, as the New Orleans Hornets defeated the Los Angeles Clippers, 98-87.

David West added 22 points and eight boards for the Hornets, who snapped a three-game skid. Willie Green chipped in with 17 points.

"It was a good win; a good defensive effort on our part as a team," Green said. "It was some of the things we've been going over in practice: getting back to our fundamentals, stopping guys from getting to the paint, making sure we box out and rebound. We did that and kept them in the eighties. When we do that, we're a good team."

Blake Griffin tallied his usual double-double with 21 points and 13 rebounds for the Clippers, who fell to 2-8 on their season-long 11-game road trip.

Randy Foye donated 15 points and nine assists for Los Angeles, which got 14 points from Chris Kaman.

Trailing by five, 16-11, with over five minutes remaining in the first quarter, the Hornets scored the final 12 points of the period to go in front. West and Paul each tallied four points during the surge, which Jarrett Jack capped with a pair of free throws for a 23-16 margin.

The Clippers, though, scored the first seven points of the second stanza to tie the game at 23-23. But Marco Belinelli's three-point play and Jack's bank shot gave New Orleans a 28-23 lead with 9 1/2 minutes to go.

Belinelli added a three-pointer and jumper later in the frame to extend the Hornets' margin to 38-31 with three minutes left. New Orleans led 45-38 at the half.

Los Angeles kept it close early in the third and got within four, 55-51, on DeAndre Jordan's free throw with 9 1/2 minutes remaining. But Green sparked a 13-3 New Orleans run with a trey and jumper. Paul capped the burst with a layup to make it a 68-54 contest with over three minutes to go.

Paul's jumper at the end of the stanza gave the Hornets a 73-62 edge heading to the fourth.

The Clippers never got closer than nine in the fourth.

"Turnovers (hurt us). We let our offense affect our defense and vice versa," Griffin said. "We didn't get stops. We came down the floor and kind of rushed into things and turned the ball over."

Game Notes

The Clippers, who are just 5-23 on the road this season, snapped a 14-game skid to the Hornets with a 99-95 win in LA back on November 22, but have lost eight straight in New Orleans...The Clippers were without guards Eric Gordon (wrist) and Baron Davis (knee)...Belinelli had 12 points off the bench for New Orleans, which won for just the third time in 12 games.