West lifts
Hornets to 3-2 lead
NEW ORLEANS (AP)
- Back pain couldn't keep David West from taking the court with
aggression. The San Antonio Spurs couldn't stop him from dominating.
"Back in
the locker room, right before we break huddle and come out to
the game, we said, 'No excuses,"' West recalled. "Regardless
of how I was feeling, I just knew how important this game was
for us as a basketball team. I knew I had to play well. I went
out there with the intent to play well and things just went my
way."
Did they ever.
West had career
playoff highs of 38 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots,
lifting New Orleans to a 101-79 victory over the Spurs on Tuesday
night and a 3-2 series lead.
New Orleans looked
impressive in winning the first two games at home but stumbled
in San Antonio. Back in the Big Easy, the Hornets cruised again.
"We've proved
all season long we're one of the better teams in the NBA,"
Hornets coach Byron Scott said. "We had every reason after
Games 3 and 4 to fold, but again, being with these guys, they've
showed this type of resilience all season, so I'm not surprised."
Chris Paul had
16 of his 22 points in the second half and added 14 assists for
the Hornets, who've never advanced past the second round of the
playoffs in the franchise's 20-year history.
Manu Ginobili
led San Antonio with 20 points and Tony Parker had 18. The Hornets
held Tim Duncan to 10 points, though Duncan was a force on the
glass with 23 rebounds.
"They did
a great job of crowding the paint and also getting back to our
shooters," Duncan said of the Hornets' defenders. "They
were very physical on the post. I didn't shoot the ball very
well and those opportunities kind of turned into them running
it back at us."
Game 6 is Thursday
night in San Antonio, where the Spurs are 5-0 in the postseason.
The Hornets are now 6-0 at in playoff games in New Orleans, where
Game 7 would be, if necessary.
Guarded mostly
by Tyson Chandler, Duncan was 5-of-18 shooting, but Chandler
left the game early in the fourth quarter with a bruised left
foot. Meanwhile, a trainer put an ice pack on West's back after
he left the game in the final minutes as the Hornets All-Star
forward grimaced in pain.
Scott said both
were in obvious pain, but he did not expect either of them to
miss the next game.
"I landed
funny and kind of lost feeling and couldn't really put pressure
on it," Chandler said. "I didn't want to hurt the team
by trying to be heroic. I'll be fine. I'll definitely be fine
for the next game."
West was dominant
on both ends of the floor throughout despite his pain, with four
of his blocks coming in the second half, one from behind the
play on what seemed like a certain layup by Ime Udoka.
"He wasn't
100 percent, but we couldn't tell. He was a beast out there,"
Hornets guard Morris Peterson said. "He played probably
the best game of his career. His back was a little sore today,
and I think it was carrying us so much during this game. He had
us on his back all day."
Peterson had
12 points for New Orleans on four 3-pointers, picking up the
slack for Peja Stojakovic, who was guarded closely again.
Stojakovic still
managed a crucial transition 3 in the fourth quarter, however,
giving the Hornets an 81-68 lead with 7:05 to go.
San Antonio pulled
to 85-77 on Udoka's third 3-pointer, but Paul responded with
a driving layup with 4:33 left and scored again on a pass from
West to turn back the Spurs' rally.
Paul, who had
six points in the first half, scored nine points and set up Chandler
for an alley-oop dunk during a 20-4 Hornets run to open the third
quarter. Peterson's 3 capped the surge, giving New Orleans a
64-51 lead.
While Stojakovic
managed only nine points, he recognized who had the hot hand.
His pass to the corner set up Peterson's fourth 3, which put
the Hornets ahead 68-54. Paul then added two free throws, giving
him 12 for the quarter, and West scored his 30th point of the
game on a jumper over Parker, giving the Hornets a 72-58 lead
heading into the fourth quarter.
Duncan was held
scoreless until early the second quarter, but the Spurs hit their
first four 3s and six of their first eight. Ginobili's second
3 put San Antonio up 37-30.
West, who had
22 in the opening half, got New Orleans to 38-36 on a jumper
late in the second quarter, then tied it at 43 when he put back
a blocked fast-break layup.
The Spurs took
a 47-44 lead into halftime after Parker got up from a hard foul
and sank two free throws in the final seconds.
Then, as in the
first two games of this series, the Hornets stormed ahead in
the third quarter, this time outscoring San Antonio 28-11 in
the decisive period.
"The New
Orleans defense was great tonight," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich
said. "They played fantastic, especially in the third quarter
and that's when they got away from us and that was the end of
the game."
Notes: Popovich
was called for a technical between the first and second quarters
while arguing with referee Joe Crawford about an earlier delay
of game call. ... Robert Horry's appearance for San Antonio gave
him 238 in the playoffs, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the
most in NBA history. ... New Orleans' Melvin Ely and Fabricio
Oberto of the Spurs were called for double fouls and double technicals
after a collision under the San Antonio basket in the first quarter.
... Saints quarterback Drew Brees, among the local celebrities
at the game, signed a football brought to him by a Hornets mascot
and threw it to a fan in the upper deck of the arena.
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