Paul Helps Hornets Rally to Beat Bulls

[March 18, 2008]  NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Chris Paul scored a game-high 37 points to give the New Orleans Hornets a 108-97 come-from-behind win over the Chicago Bulls on Monday night.

Paul made an open 3-pointer with 2:47 left in the fourth quarter to tie it 96-all. After a steal by Jannero Pargo on the next possession, Paul found Tyson Chandler for a thundering alley-oop dunk to give the Hornets their first lead since halftime.

Bonzi Wells, who scored 19 points, added two free throws and a dunk in the next two possessions to seal the Hornets' victory.

New Orleans outscored Chicago 33-13 in the fourth quarter.

Peja Stojakovic added 21 points for the Hornets, but made only six of 19 3-point attempts. Rookie Julian Wright added 14 points for New Orleans.

Paul also had a game-high 13 assists, 10 in the first half, along with three steals.

Ben Gordon came off the bench to score 31 points for Chicago. While Gordon sank shots from around the perimeter, Drew Gooden did so from near the paint. He had 23 points and 12 rebounds.

Larry Hughes and Luol Deng each ended up with 16 points for Chicago.

The Bulls opened the second half on a 14-4 run capped by Hughes' 3-pointer from the corner to put Chicago up 64-55 with 7:37 remaining in the third quarter. The Bulls ended the quarter up 84-75.

Paul's layup through traffic with 5.6 seconds left in the first half gave New Orleans a 51-50 lead. A tip-in by Gooden was at first allowed as time expired, but was overturned after video review.

Notes: Hornets Forward David West missed his third consecutive game with a sprained right ankle. ... Bulls G Chris Duhon didn't make the trip to New Orleans because of flulike symptoms, but could return to the team for a shootaround Tuesday when the Bulls return to Chicago. Duhon has been in some hot water recently after his comments concerning his sleeping through the Bulls' shootaround Sunday. This coming after Duhon never played in the Bulls' last three games. ... Chicago wore green jerseys in honor of St. Patrick's Day. ... LSU football coach Les Miles and Saints running back Reggie Bush attended Monday's game. Miles sat next to Hornets owner George Shinn. Bush attended the game with girlfriend Kim Kardashian. ... Referee Bennett Salvatore worked his 1,500th the game of his career Monday night. Only three other current referees (Dick Bavetta, Joey Crawford and Jack Nies) have more tenure than Salvatore.

[Associated Press]

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