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Paul, Hornets travel to face Iverson, Nuggets

Nov 4, 2007 - 2:43 PM New Orleans (2-0) at Denver (2-0) 8:00 pm EDT

DENVER (Ticker) -- The New Orleans Hornets and the Denver Nuggets are off to hot starts, thanks in large part to the success of their perimeter players.

The Hornets will try to keep their shooting strokes sharp when they visit the Nuggets on Sunday.

New Orleans has gotten impressive play in its first two games from point guard Chris Paul. A career 43.6 percent shooter, Paul has connected on 64 percent of his attempts in the season's first two games, totaling 41 points to go along with 18 assists.

Paul has been aided by the return of sharpshooter Peja Stojakovic, who missed all but 13 games last season due to a back injury. The veteran forward has knocked down four 3-pointers in each of the first two games.

The Hornets connected on 11 shots from the arc in Friday's 113-93 victory over Portland.

Denver has surged to a 2-0 start on the broad shoulders of superstar duo Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony. Iverson struggled with his shooting touch in the opener - a 120-103 victory over Seattle - but compensated with his abilities as a distributor to finish with 25 points and 14 assists.

Anthony, who had 32 points against the SuperSonics, keyed the Nuggets' 99-91 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday with 11 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter.

Denver has been able to get out and run in the open floor because of the inside play of center Marcus Camby, who is averaging 18 rebounds a game in the early going.

The Nuggets split the four-game season series with New Orleans last season.