Paul's triple-double helps Hornets oust Mavs with 99-94 win

[April 30, 2008]  NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Byron Scott accepted his NBA coach of the year award, then guided his team to the second round of the playoffs. Chris Paul had 24 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds, and the New Orleans Hornets held on for a 99-94 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night to win their first-round series in five games.

David West scored 25 for New Orleans and Jannero Pargo had 17, while Tyson Chandler had 10 points and 14 rebounds.

Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 22 points and 13 rebounds, and Devean George added 11 points in the fourth quarter as Dallas nearly pulled off an improbable comeback. The Mavs cut a 17-point deficit to three in the final seven minutes before Peja Stojakovic hit a pair of free throws to seal it with 5.7 seconds left.

Tempers flared near the end, and Jerry Stackhouse was ejected for a second technical foul with 1:47 left after slapping the ball out of Paul's hands during a stoppage in play, then getting in a face-to-face standoff with West.

Dallas never led and was hurt badly by an 11-1 Hornets run after Nowitzki's free throw had pulled the Mavs to 73-66 early in the fourth quarter.

Dallas played solid defense on New Orleans' next possession, keeping the ball on the perimeter, but Pargo hit a deflating 3 at the shot clock buzzer.

Pargo then added a fast-break layup after rookie Julian Wright's steal on the other end. Paul then salvaged a botched alley-oop lob when he grabbed a loose ball and drained a baseline fade, and after West found Pargo cutting across the lane for a layup, New Orleans led 84-67 with seven minutes left.

While the crowd was celebrating what eventually became the first playoff series win by an NBA team representing New Orleans, Dallas regrouped and stormed back. The Mavs got as close as 97-94 after Brandon Bass, who had 11 points, hit two free throws with 33 seconds left.

The Hornets ran down the shot clock before Paul missed a jumper. Chandler got a hand on the rebound, however and tapped it to the perimeter, where Paul corralled it and smartly got the ball quickly to Stojakovic, the Hornets' best free-throw shooter, who finished with 11 points..

Dallas was unable to score again, and the Hornets raised their arms as the buzzer sounded, the crowd went wild and streamers shot down from the rafters.

Dallas must now decide what to do after their blockbuster trade for Jason Kidd yielded only an noncompetitive first-round playoff exit. That could include deciding whether to retain coach Avery Johnson, who's never won fewer than 51 games in any of his three full regular seasons but whose squads have had two straight first-round playoff losses since losing to Miami in the finals three seasons ago.

Kidd finished with 14 points and nine assists, while Jason Terry had 13 points and Josh Howard 12 for the Mavericks. Stackhouse had 11 points.

The Hornets shot nearly 54 percent in the first half and took their first double-digit lead on West's fadeaway as he was fouled late in the first quarter, making the score 24-13.

Dallas battled back to tie it at 32 when Stackhouse hit an acrobatic fast-break layup as he was being pulled to the floor on a hard foul by Pargo, but the Mavs never took the lead (in the opening half), and the Hornets began to pull away again when Pargo hit a 3.

Pargo's jumper several possessions later ignited a 17-3 run to close the second quarter.

Paul, who had 11 assists in the opening half, added a 3 during the surge, West hit another fade as he was fouled and Stojakovic added a transition 3.

Pargo's jumper capped it, giving New Orleans a 54-39 lead at halftime.

Dallas refused to capitulate, however, as Terry opened the third quarter with two quick 3s and the Mavs closed to 63-57 on Nowitzki's jumper.

Late in the quarter, the Mavs were within five after Bass stole a rebound and dunked among three Hornets defenders and Terry hit two free throws. But West converted yet another three-point play when he hit a running hook as he was fouled in the lane, giving New Orleans a 71-63 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Notes: Shortly before tipoff, the Hornets presented Byron Scott with the Red Auerbach trophy so fans could honor the first-time NBA coach of the year. The voting totals were released earlier in the day. ... Saints running back Reggie Bush was in a courtside seat and persuaded by the Hornets' mascot into signing a football and throwing it into the crowd. ... Paul had on triple double and three double-doubles in this series. ... Attendance was 18,260. The Hornets sold out all three home playoff games in the series. ... Bass hit his first 21 free throws of the series before missing one with 8:56 left in the game. ... The Mavs are 8-6 all time in first-round playoff series.

[Associated Press; By BRETT MARTEL]

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