West scores 30 and Hornets take Game 1 from Spurs 101-82

[May 05, 2008]  NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- David West scored a career-playoff-high 30 points to lead the New Orleans Hornets to a 101-82 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series Saturday night.

Chris Paul added 17 points, 13 assists and four steals for New Orleans, which trailed by as much as 11 in the first half but stormed into the lead for good in the third quarter.

Tim Duncan had a rare terrible night, going 1-of-9 from the field for a career playoff-low five points and only three rebounds.

The Hornets swarmed Duncan with double teams throughout the game, forcing San Antonio to look for points from outside.

The Spurs hit 12 3-pointers in the game, but also missed 19.

The Hornets dominated the inside, outrebounding San Antonio 50-34 and outscoring the Spurs 46-26 in the paint. The Hornets also shot 50 percent, while the Spurs finished at 40.8 percent.

Tyson Chandler had 10 points, 15 rebounds and three blocked shots for New Orleans. Peja Stojakovic added 22 points for the Hornets on 9-of-15 shooting, while reserve Bonzi Wells added 10 points, all but two in the fourth quarter.

Tony Parker led the Spurs with 23 points and Manu Ginobili had 19. Bruce Bowen added 17 points and Michael Finley 13, but San Antonio needed more help inside from Duncan and Kurt Thomas, who had only two points and two rebounds.

After trailing most of the first half, the Hornets surged into the lead for good with a 13-0 run in the third quarter that opened with Chandler's driving layup and ended with Stojakovic's second 3-pointer of the game.

That gave the Hornets a 61-54 lead, which they built to 74-66 heading into the fourth quarter.

Jacque Vaughn's driving layup got the Spurs as close as 76-71 early in the period, but the Hornets, despite being in the playoffs for the first time in four years, were not rattled and pushed the lead back up to double digits before turning it into a blowout during the last 5 minutes, with Paul scoring seemingly at will.

The Hornets scored the first eight points of the game, with Stojakovic and Mo Peterson each hitting 3s, and San Antonio didn't have a point until Parker's free throws with 7:36 left in the first quarter.

It didn't take long for the San Antonio to settle down, however, and they didn't need much help from Parker or Duncan. Ginobili hit his first four shots, including three 3s, and Bowen hit three 3s of his own as the Spurs stormed back to take a 27-23 lead at the end of the first quarter.

New Orleans fought back to take a 35-34 lead on Chandler's alley-oop dunk of Paul's lob, but Bowen, who minutes earlier had been face down on the floor with his hands over his face after apparently getting poked in the eye on foul by Wells, hit two more 3s, one while being fouled.

Finley had another 3 during a 10-0 run that put San Antonio up 44-35. San Antonio finished the first half 9-for-17 on 3s, and with a 49-45 lead.

Notes: The game was delayed 19 minutes between the first and second quarters because of a mess on the floor caused by fire extinguishers used after a mascot's stunt. Super Hugo had used a trampoline to soar through a ring of fire before dunking a basketball. Workers then struggled to put the fire out, leaving a white residue all over the floor. The halftime show also was canceled so the floor could be cleaned again.

[Associated Press; By BRETT MARTEL]

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