The AP reports: Sean Marks dunked with 7.8 seconds left to cap a career-high 18-point effort, and the short-handed Hornets overcame the ejection of David West in a 101-97 victory… Rasual Butler scored 23 and reserve guard Devin Brown 14 for New Orleans, which won its second straight while handing Minnesota its third-straight loss. Al Jefferson led Minnesota with 25 points and 14 rebounds, but had to be helped off the court inside the final 30 seconds with a right knee injury… New Orleans, already starting the game without All-Star Chris Paul (groin) and starting center Tyson Chandler (ankle), lost another All-Star when West was ejected late in the second quarter.
Category: New Orleans Pelicans Blog
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Derrick Rose rocks, Bulls beat Hornets 107-93
The AP reports: With Chris Paul sidelined for his first full game with a strained right groin, Derrick Rose scored 21 points and the Chicago Bulls handed the struggling Hornets their fourth straight loss, 107-93 on Wednesday night… Ben Gordon added 19 points for the Bulls, who won for the fourth time in five games—all on the road. David West led New Orleans with 24 points and 14 rebounds, Peja Stojakovic scored 24 points, and Devin Brown had 17. New Orleans showed some fight in the fourth quarter, getting its deficit down to 10 with 4:01 to go, but simply could not catch the Bulls, who had six players reach double digits in points and shot 56 percent, the highest field-goal percentage by a Hornets opponent this season.
Chris Paul is day-to-day
Chris Paul underwent an MRI this morning, which revealed a mild groin strain. Paul suffered the injury during the late-third quarter of last night’s loss to Portland. He is listed as day-to-day.
This is good news, as yesterday it was feared he might have a more serious injury. There was some speculation he might even miss the All-Star game, though that appears to not be the case.
Paul injured, Blazers beat Hornets 97-89
The AP reports: Chris Paul darted into the paint, bounced a pinpoint pass to James Posey under the basket and suddenly dropped to the floor, clutching his right leg as the New Orleans Arena fell silent… LaMarcus Aldridge scored 22 points and the Trail Blazers extended their winning streak to five, erasing a 17-point deficit after Paul’s injury en route to a 97-89 victory Monday night… Outlaw finished with 16 points and Fernandez 15 for the Blazers. Aldridge also had 11 rebounds, Joel Przybilla grabbed 10 and Portland outrebounded New Orleans 52-32. David West scored 25 points for the Hornets and Peja Stojakovic 18, but after Paul left the game, the Hornets were 5-of-21 from the field (24 percent) with only two assists and five turnovers.
Paul scores 38, but Spurs beat Hornets
The AP reports: Chris Paul was mad. He threw his hands down, screamed at the referee and was summarily punished with a technical foul. He wasn’t winning this argument. Nor would his 38 points be enough to win the game. Tony Parker instead prevailed in a clash of All-Star point guards, scoring 25 points and stretching San Antonio’s lead in the Southwest Division over Paul and the New Orleans Hornets in a 106-93 win Saturday night… Michael Finley made four 3-pointers on his way to 20 points, and Tim Duncan scored 12 points against West in another matchup of All-Stars. Manu Ginobili also had 22 points, including a poster-worthy dunk over David Armstrong that made the home crowd erupt. After all, the emphatic jam isn’t what Spurs fans are used to seeing.
Warriors upset Hornets, 91-87
The AP reports: Don Nelson saw Peja Stojakovic guarding Corey Maggette in crunch time and figured it was Maggette’s moment to shine. Maggette wasn’t about to disagree. He scored 12 of his 19 points in last six minutes, helping the Golden State Warriors hold on for a 91-87 upset of the New Orleans Hornets on Friday night… Jamal Crawford scored 17 for Golden State, hitting a 19-foot jumper with 15.4 seconds left—a crushing blow after Stojakovic had pulled New Orleans to 85-82 with 37 seconds left. Chris Paul had 31 points for the Hornets, while David West, returning from back spasms that sidelined him for five games, had 12 points and 15 rebounds.
Devin Brown steps up
NBA.com reports: Tyson Chandler was sidelined. Ditto for David West. If being without two starters wasn’t enough for the Hornets, James Posey had a poor shooting night. What was New Orleans to do against a formidable opponent like the Nuggets? Enter Devin Brown. Moved up in the rotation after a first-half injury, Brown answered the call with a season-high 18 points on 6-for-7 shooting. “It’s funny. I’ve been getting some extra shots up before practice and staying late, just working on different things and it showed up tonight,” Brown said, a satisfied smile on his face. “That just goes to show that extra work helps out.” Brown led a needed effort by the Hornets’ reserves, who combined to outscored Denver’s reserves 42-13. Brown’s effort, along with Peja Stojakovic’s 26 points, was needed considering Mr. Do Everything, Chris Paul, had a relatively quiet night with 12 points (3-for-12 shooting) and 10 assists. “That’s one thing about this team, the opportunity right now for guys to come in and contribute,” Posey said.
Hornets beat Nuggets 94-81
The AP reports: Devin Brown hadn’t played much lately. He had been taking extra shots after practice, trying to be ready to come through when called upon. Moving up in the rotation after a first-half injury to Morris Peterson, Brown hit 6-of-7 shots, including all three 3 pointers he attempted, and finished with a season high 18 points to help the New Orleans Hornets defeat the Denver Nuggets 94-81 on Wednesday night… Peja Stojakovic matched a season high with 26 points, but beyond that, New Orleans didn’t get a lot of scoring from a starting unit missing center Tyson Chandler and David West for a fifth straight game. Chris Paul had 12 points and 10 assists, but had an off night shooting for him, going 3-of-12. James Posey, normally the Hornets most productive reserve, was 1-of-13 for six points… Kenyon Martin scored 22 points, and J.R. Smith had 20 for Denver, which was 7-of-20 from the field in the final quarter as a slim lead turned into a double-digit deficit.
CP3 rocks as Hornets defeat Sixers 101-86
The AP reports: Chris Paul had 27 points, 15 assists, 10 rebounds and seven steals for his league-leading fifth triple-double of the season, and the New Orleans Hornets defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 101-86 on Monday night… New Orleans, badly outscored inside while missing center Tyson Chandler (ankle) and David West (back), made up for it with 14 3s as a team… James Posey and Rasual Butler had 13 points apiece, including three 3-pointers each for the Hornets. Thaddeus Young had 22 points and Andre Miller 19 for the Sixers, who lost for only the second time in their past 10 games. Andre Iguodala scored 17 points for Philadelphia, and Louis Williams added 11 points.
Wolves rally to beat Hornets
The AP reports: Al Jefferson had 24 points and 14 rebounds and Minnesota controlled the paint in a 116-108 victory over the Hornets… Randy Foye had 24 points and eight assists and Rodney Carney scored 12 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter for Minnesota. The Timberwolves scored 52 points in the paint against the league’s best post defense and held a 42-26 rebounding advantage to improve to 8-2 this month, tied with Orlando for best in the NBA. James Posey had 24 points and tied a career high with seven 3-pointers for New Orleans. Chris Paul added 23 points and 12 assists. New Orleans was able to overcome the absences of Chandler (left ankle) and West (back) down low against New Jersey on Wednesday, but not on this night.