Hornets Stay Hot on Road; Top Warriors

[January 05, 2008]  OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Tyson Chandler had a season-high 22 points and matched a season best with 22 rebounds to lead the New Orleans Hornets to their fifth straight road win, 116-104 over the Golden State Warriors on Friday night.

Chris Paul scored 11 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter and added 13 assists to help the Hornets extend their longest road winning streak since also winning five straight in 2003.

Baron Davis scored 26 points, Al Harrington had 24 and Andris Biedrins added 20 on 10-of-11 shooting for the Warriors, who lost consecutive games for the first time since opening the season 0-6.

Chandler dominated the smaller Warriors inside, making nine of 11 shots and controlling the glass. He capped his night with an emphatic one-handed slam in the final minutes.

Paul delivered most of the other big plays in the fourth quarter, more than holding his own in a showdown with Davis between two of the league's top point guards.

Golden State opened the fourth quarter on a 14-3 run to cut New Orleans' lead to 93-88, but then Paul hit a jumper in the lane, fed Chandler on a lob for a three-point play and assisted on Morris Peterson's 3-pointer from the corner to give the Hornets a 101-88 lead with 6:06 to play.

Peja Stojakovic scored 24 points, David West had 20 before leaving with a bruised hip early in the fourth quarter and Peterson added 15 as New Orleans won for the seventh time in eight games. The starters scored all but 11 of New Orleans' points.

After a sluggish second quarter, New Orleans scored the first 12 points of the second half to regain control. Chandler started the run by slamming in a missed shot and added another bucket.

Golden State tried to whittle the lead down, but the Hornets always seemed to have the answer, whether it was a 3-pointer by Stojakovic or a basket inside by Chandler, and led 90-74 entering the fourth.

The Hornets got off to a fast start offensively, shooting 58 percent in the first quarter and making six of their first eight 3-pointers to take a 39-27 lead. Paul was the only starter not to make three baskets in the first quarter, settling for a pair of 3-pointers. But he did have seven assists.

The Warriors erased that deficit with a 19-2 run midway through the second quarter that was sparked by two big plays from reserve Mickael Pietrus. Pietrus began the spurt with a 3-pointer from the corner and then blocked Stojakovic's fast-break layup attempt hard enough off the backboard to lead to a layup for Davis on the other end.

Harrington and Jackson ended the run with back-to-back 3-pointers that gave Golden State a 50-48 lead with 2:55 left in the half. New Orleans went into the break up 58-56 after Marcus Vinicius hit one of two free throws with 0.1 seconds left following a loose-ball foul called on Pietrus.

Notes:@ Golden State rookie F Brandan Wright, who played just 4 minutes the previous nine games, made his first career start. Wright finished with five points and four rebounds in 7 minutes. ... Warriors F Stephen Jackson was called for a technical early in the fourth quarter for pushing Ryan Bowen. Jackson finished 4-of-15 shooting.

[Associated Press; By JOSH DUBOW

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