John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports:
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Since New Orleans Hornets Coach Monty Williams began encouraging him to attack the basket more, forward Trevor Ariza appears to be coming out of a dreadful shooting slump.
After enduring an 0-of-18 stretch on 3-pointers last month, Ariza is beating more defenders off the dribble for dunks and making clutch shots.
Ariza helped the Hornets upset the Boston Celtics 83-81 at TD Garden on Friday with a 3-pointer with 1:34 remaining that gave New Orleans an 80-77 lead. The win ended a seven-game road losing streak.
On Saturday in Washington, Ariza had a season-high 22-point performance in the Hornets’ 92-81 victory against the Wizards, sealing New Orleans’ first back-to-back road victories since it started the season 3-0 away from home.
Ariza made 10-of-16 shots, which included a dunk over Wizards 7-foot center JaVale McGee in the fourth quarter.
