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Paul helps Hornets rally past Suns

Jan 6, 2008 - 6:10 AM PHOENIX (Ticker) -- Chris Paul collected 28 points and 10 assists and Peja Stojakovic added 23 points as the New Orleans Hornets rallied for a 118-113 triumph over the Phoenix Suns on Saturday.

Morris Peterson had 22 points and seven rebounds and Tyson Chandler chipped in 19 and 11 in helping New Orleans finish with a perfect record on its three-game road trip.

The Hornets' victory was even more impressive as they took the floor without forward David West, who missed the game with a bruised left hip sustained in Friday's win at Golden State.

"They're a resilient bunch of guys, and we showed it," Hornets coach Byron Scott said. "The one thing I kept saying was hang in there. If we hang around, we will have a chance to win. The guys gave us some big-time plays at the end, and then we got some stops. We really tightened things up in the second half."

Stojakovic's 3-pointer sparked a 9-0 surge as the Hornets grabbed a 107-105 lead with 3:56 remaining in the fourth quarter.

"It was a high-energy game that came down to the wire," Stojakovic said. "We spread the floor and made some tough shots. At the end, I can't say if we played good defense or they missed some tough shots, but it was good for us."

Phoenix's Boris Diaw made a pair from the line to tie the game at 107-107, but Paul gave New Orleans the lead for good when his shot from the arc started a game-changing 10-4 burst.

"In this short season, I think this is our biggest win," Paul said. "We showed a lot of poise against one of the best teams in the West and on the road after a back-to-back."

Leandro Barbosa netted 28 points off the bench and Steve Nash had 23 and 11 assists for the Suns, who had their four-game winning streak snapped.

"They played better than we did in the second half," Nash said. "I felt we had pretty good control of the game for three quarters, but we lost control, and they played good down the stretch."

"We ran into a nice team," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "They just kept doing it and doing it and doing it until somebody got tired of running around. They made nice shots, big plays and Chris Paul was good, really good."

Last season, New Orleans went 0-12 against San Antonio, Dallas and Phoenix. But the Hornets are now 3-2 this season against those teams.