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 A jubilant crowd broke into repeated chants of "M-V-P" in recognition of a masterful performance by the Hornets' guard, who is New Orleans' best shot at making the All-Star game here next month as a reserve.
Even in a game featuring recently elected All-Star starter Allen Iverson, Paul was the best player on the floor in this contest. Iverson also scored 23, but had only three assists and got little help other than from Kenyon Martin, who scored 18.
The game also featured a pair of centers vying for a reserve spot in the All-Star game: Denver's Marcus Camby and New Orleans' Tyson Chandler.
In this game there was no comparison. Chandler finished with 10 points and 16 rebounds. Camby was a non-factor for most of the first three quarters. He didn't score his first point until he made a free throw with 1:52 to go in the third period. He finished with three points and five rebounds.
The second-best center in the game was Hornets reserve Melvin Ely, who had 16 points and nine rebounds in only 23 minutes.
Peja Stojakovic hit four 3-pointers and finished with 19 points for New Orleans, and Jannero Pargo and David West each scored 13 points.
Recently elected All-Star Carmelo Anthony missed his fourth straight game with a sprained left ankle, and the undermanned Nuggets struggled to keep pace.
New Orleans built a 20-point lead in the first half and maintained that margin through most of the second half.
Iverson's driving layups on consecutive possessions gave Denver a glimmer of hope, cutting the score to 91-76 early in the fourth quarter.
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But with Paul running the offense, the Hornets quickly sealed it with a 12-0 run that started when Paul set up Ely for a score inside and finished when Paul tossed an alley-oop lob on rookie Julian Wright's dunk.
New Orleans ended up shooting 51 percent for the game and outrebounded Denver 52-33.
The Hornets shot nearly 56 percent in a dominant first half, during which Stojakovic hit three 3-pointers and scored 16 points.
A 12-0 run in the first quarter that included a pair of short floaters by Paul and back-to-back 3s by Stojakovic and Pargo gave New Orleans its first double-digit lead at 31-19, and the Hornets continued to pull away.
Late in the second quarter, Stojakovic hit back-to-back 3s, Pargo converted a feed from Paul on a backdoor cut and Paul added a short off-balance floater to give New Orleans a 63-40 lead at halftime.
Notes: Linas Kleiza started for Anthony and had 14 points, as did reserve guard J.R. Smith, a former Hornets first-round draft choice. ... Attendance was 15,601, one of the better crowds of the season but about 1,500 short of a sellout. ... The Hornets are 2-1 against the Nuggets this season. They've split two games in Denver. .... New Orleans has won 21 games by double digits and is 20-0 when scoring 100 or more points. ... The Hornets are 16-7 at home, where they've won seven straight. ... Denver has lost six straight on the road and is 7-13 overall away from home.
[Associated Press; By BRETT MARTEL]
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