The AP reports:
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Chris Paul chose an opportune time for his first triple-double of the season.
Paul had 27 points, 15 assists and 13 rebounds, and the New Orleans Hornets held on for a 93-88 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night to even their first-round playoff series at 2-2.
Wearing a black wrap on his left hand and a small bandage over his right eye, Paul scored 14 of New Orleans’ 24 points in the fourth quarter. The All-Star guard then capped his brilliant performance by running down the clock and setting up Jarrett Jack’s short jumper, which made it 90-86 with 9.3 seconds left.
Kobe Bryant had 17 points for the Lakers, but did not score in the first half and finished 5 of 18 shooting. He also came up lame late in the fourth quarter, favoring his left ankle after a collision with Green. Bryant’s last miss came on a 3-point attempt in the final seconds…
Trevor Ariza scored 19 for New Orleans, while Carl Landry added 16 before fouling out in the final minute…
Pau Gasol and Ron Artest each scored 16 for Los Angeles, with all of Artest’s points coming in the first half. Andrew Bynum added 11 points and Derek Fisher 10.
The Hornets never trailed in the second half and led by as many as nine points, at 57-48, early in the third quarter when Marco Belinelli’s 3 capped a 20-3 spurt that had started in the second quarter.
