• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Paul, Hornets host Spurs in crucial Game Five

May 13, 2008 - 12:43 PM San Antonio at New Orleans 9:30 pm EDT Western Conference semifinals Series tied, 2-2

NEW ORLEANS (Ticker) - Chris Paul and the New Orleans Hornets are not worried, even though they've let the defending champion San Antonio Spurs back into their Western Conference semifinal series.

Paul and the Hornets aim to regain momentum as they host San Antonio in Game Five of the best-of-seven series on Tuesday.

New Orleans has looked awfully good here winning Game One by 19 points and Game Two by 18. However, it has been a different story in San Antonio, where the Hornets let their 2-0 series lead slip away.

Tim Duncan scored 22 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to lead the Spurs to a 100-80 victory in Game Four on Sunday. The Spurs outscored the Hornets, 61-39, in the second and third quarters.

"We got beat in all aspects of the game," said Paul, who had 23 points and five assists. "I really can't explain this one. We looked pretty bad, but we have to bounce back. Now, it's a three-game series. The first team to win two games wins it, so no time to panic."

"We were lucky enough to come back here and right our ship a little bit," said Tony Parker, who recorded 21 points. "We feel good going back to New Orleans."

The Hornets are not alone in their struggles in road playoff games.

The Spurs will try to become just the second team this postseason to record a road win in the conference semifinals.

"We didn't want to give them any hope," Parker said. "Now, we did our job. We won two games. Game Five's going to be huge. They'll be at home, where they'll play better, shoot a little better, and we have to be ready for that."

Game Six is Thursday in San Antonio.