Hornets roll past Clippers to clinch Southwest Division

[April 16, 2008]  NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- David West scored 32 and Chris Paul had 12 during a decisive run in the third quarter as the New Orleans Hornets clinched the Southwest Division by beating the Los Angeles Clippers 114-92 on Tuesday night.

The Hornets will have at least the No. 2 seed in the playoffs in the rugged Western Conference.

Hornets coach Byron Scott earned his 300th career victory. The Hornets finished 30-11 at home for the third time in franchise history. The club record is 32-9, set in 1997-98.

After losing three of its last four, New Orleans struggled for a half against the reeling Clippers before putting them away with 26-6 spurt in the third quarter. The Clippers have lost six in a row and are 4-25 in their last 29 games.

Trailing 56-51 after Cuttino Mobley's 3-pointer early in the third quarter, the Hornets scored 12 of the next 14 points to take the lead for good, then pulled away quickly.

Paul started the run with a lay-up off a Clippers turnover. Peja Stojakovic, who missed his first six 3-pointers, hit two in a row to give New Orleans a 63-58 lead. Paul followed with four consecutive baskets to extend the advantage to 71-62, and Morris Peterson gave the Hornets their first double-digit lead, 74-62, on a 3-pointer with 3:11 left in the quarter.

Sixteen seconds later, Tyson Chandler was fouled on a dunk and hit the free throw, making the score.

New Orleans led by at least 12 the rest of the way and poured it on in the fourth quarter, going ahead by as many as 31.

Paul finished with 22 points and 12 assists, while Tyson Chandler added 11 points and 11 rebounds. Rookie Julian Wright scored all 14 of his points in the fourth quarter.

Rookie Al Thornton led the Clippers with 26 points. Corey Maggette contributed 13 off the bench.

Early on, it did not look like the Hornets would be comfortable down the stretch. West got 20 points on 7-of-8 shooting in the first quarter, but received little help from his teammates as the Hornets trailed 51-49 at the half.

New Orleans, the third-most accurate 3-point team in the NBA, hit only 2-of-13 from beyond the arc in the first half. Paul, who had shot just 25.9 percent in the last five games, blew a wide-open lay-up in the first quarter and did not score until the 3:39 mark of the second period.

Thornton had 11 points in the first quarter for the Clippers, who tied it at 26 on two free throws from Elton Brand with 1.1 seconds left. They went ahead for the first time 35-33 when Smush Parker sank a pair of foul shots. Neither team led by more than four for the rest of the half.

The Clippers, second-to-last in the NBA in 3-point percentage, connected on 4-of-5 in the opening half.

Notes: The Clippers have not beaten a team with a winning record since Feb. 22 (Utah) and are 0-16 on the road against Western Conference teams with winning records. ... Clippers forward Tim Thomas did not dress with a sore Achilles' tendon. His absence forced coach Mike Dunleavy to use his 38th different starting lineup this season. ... New Orleans completed a four-game season sweep of the Clippers, winning all four by double digits. ... The crowd of 17,388 was the Hornets' 12th sellout in their last 17 home games. Their average home attendance since Dec. 1 is 14,738. Under their current lease that was amended in January, they have to average 14,735 through the end of next season to prevent an opt-out clause from going into effect.

[Associated Press; By DOUG FERGUSON]

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