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Stojakovic, Hornets blast lowly SuperSonics

Jan 17, 2008 - 5:35 AM NEW ORLEANS (Ticker) -- Peja Stojakovic scored 23 points and David West added 19 and 11 rebounds as the New Orleans Hornets coasted to a 123-92 victory over the slumping Seattle SuperSonics on Wednesday.

Tyson Chandler posted his 20th double-double with 14 points and 21 boards and Chris Paul collected 12 and 11 assists in helping the Hornets open their five-game homestand on a positive note.

"Tyson did an outstanding job attacking the defensive rebounds and, at times, on the offensive end also," Sonics center Kurt Thomas said. "He's a tremendous rebounder. He changes the flow of the offense and he gives his team second- and third-effort opportunities."

Stojakovic made 6-of-11 shots, including 4-of-7 3-pointers, to bounce back from his lackluster two-point effort in Sunday's 87-82 win against the Houston Rockets.

After racing out to a 30-18 edge through one quarter, New Orleans continued to pour it on in the second as Bobby Jackson's 16-footer sparked an impressive 15-5 surge for a 47-29 lead at the 6:41 mark.

"We are really playing with a lot of confidence right now," said Hornets guard Jannero Pargo, who scored 18 points. "We feel like we should win the games we are supposed to win, we did just that tonight."

The Hornets never allowed their lead to dip under double figures over the final two quarters en route to their sixth victory in seven outings.

"We didn't play with enough defensive intensity, and we didn't come close to matching New Orleans' intensity," Seattle coach P.J. Carlesimo said. "They played more aggressively and they deserved to win the game."

"We definitely got off to a slow start and we couldn't recover from it, and it made a big difference down the stretch," Seattle forward Chris Wilcox said.

New Orleans coach Byron Scott believes his club is playing at an all-time high.

"We are earning the right to look at games as games we should win," he said. "No disrespect to those teams, but we just feel we are a better basketball team than a lot of other teams right now, and we play a better team game."

Rookie Kevin Durant netted 20 points and Earl Watson chipped in 17 and 11 assists for the SuperSonics, who dropped their eighth consecutive game.

First-round pick Jeff Green had a tough night, scoring just nine points on 4-of-13 shooting for Seattle. Selected fifth overall out of Georgetown in June's draft, Green has averaged 10.6 points since being put in the starting lineup on December 29.