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Lakers attempt to even series vs. Hornets

Apr 20, 2011 - 2:55 PM (Sports Network) - The joke in Los Angeles over the past few days involved putting Steve Blake on Chris Paul. The Lakers' reserve point guard, of course, has been suffering from a case of the chicken pox.

Unfortunately for the Lakers, Blake is no longer contagious as the two-time defending champs get ready to try and stop the dynamic Paul in Game 2 of their Western Conference quarterfinals set with the New Orleans Hornets.

Paul stung LA with 33 points, 14 assists and seven rebounds, leading the upstart Hornets in a stunning 109-100 defeat of the Lakers in Game 1 of the set on Sunday.

"I just felt good," Paul said. "The guys will tell you I've struggled all season long, you know, trying to figure out where to pick my spots. But it's the playoffs, it's the playoffs, man. It's a whole [different] energy."

Carl Landry, starting in place of injured star David West, added 17 points for the Hornets, who earned the seventh seed in the West but were swept by LA in the regular season. They are back in the playoffs under first-year coach Monty Williams after going 37-45 last season.

"We were courageous," Landry said. "We weren't scared at all. People think New Orleans is without David West and they're undersized and that the Lakers swept us four times in the regular season. That's cool. I've been here and done that. We took the Lakers to seven games (when I was in Houston)."

New Orleans opened the set with the win thanks to Paul, who scored 17 of his points in the fourth quarter, and recorded a personal NBA playoff-low three turnovers. New Orleans also dominated things in the paint, outscoring the Lakers 52-34.

"I'm glad our guys came to play," Williams said. "We had to be strong and courageous. We got our biggest win of the year."

Jarrett Jack led all reserves with 15 points for the Hornets while backup center Aaron Gray scored 12 points on 5-for-5 shooting, but left the game late in the fourth quarter after twisting his right ankle.

Gray declined comment following the game but a Hornets spokesperson told NBA.com afterwards that he has been listed as day-to-day with an ankle sprain.

"Hopefully he's alright," Landry said. "He definitely played well tonight. We're going to need him on Wednesday."

Despite bruising his neck right before halftime, Kobe Bryant had 34 points for the Lakers, who fell short for many reasons, including a sub-par performance by All-Star Pau Gasol. The Spaniard shot just 2-for-9 and finished with eight points and six rebounds.

"I just couldn't get into a good rhythm," Gasol said.

Ron Artest ended with 16 points and 11 boards for LA. Starting center Andrew Bynum, who suffered a bone bruise in his right knee last week, ended with 13 points, while Lamar Odom, who was named the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year on Tuesday, added 10 points off the bench.

"It's been happening all year, we've been losing a game or two against a team we're supposed to beat," Odom Said. "If we don't control the momentum and don't get guys involved in the game, we're going to lose, especially when the other team is pretty keyed up to play against you. We never controlled that game, from the beginning to the end, at any point."

Gasol did lead the Lakers in assists, with six, though the team had only 17 helpers overall. During the regular season, Los Angeles went 1-9 when it had 17 or fewer assists.

"I'm disappointed, I'm stunned, surprised, and we were the ones responsible for that to happen," Gasol said.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson has a 15-0 record when his team played at home in Game 1 of a playoff series, but the Lakers are just 12-22 in the postseason when dropping Game 1 of a series.

After tonight's contest, the series shifts to the Big Easy for a pair of contests, starting with Friday's Game 3.