Hornets take control

• By LES EAST
• Special to The Advocate
• Published: May 14, 2008 - Page: 1C - UPDATED: 9:20 a.m.

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NEW ORLEANS — The question for the Hornets going into Game 5 of their series against the Spurs was whether they could shake off two uninspired losses in San Antonio and return to the form they showed in winning the first two games easily.

The answer was a resounding yes, and then some. The Hornets, who won Games 1 and 2 by 19 and 18 points, respectively, won this one by even more, 101-79, to take a 3-2 lead in their Western Conference semifinal playoff Tuesday night in the New Orleans Arena.

The familiar surroundings saw a return of familiar elements for the Hornets, who can advance to the conference finals for the first time in franchise history with a win in Game 6 on Thursday in San Antonio.

Forward David West, who had 30 points and nine rebounds in Game 1, led the way with a career playoff-high 38 points, 14 rebounds, and five blocks. He made 16-of-25 shots and added two steals.

“We came out aggressively and treated this like a Game 7,” West said. “We didn’t want to go back to San Antonio down 3-2 to the champs with them having a chance to close us out. I wanted to come out super aggressive. I made some shots early, but the key was the whole team maintaining our aggressiveness from start to finish.”

The Hornets, who outscored the Spurs decidedly in the second half of Games 1 and 2, had a 57-32 edge in the second half Tuesday.

“Obviously change, I guess, was good,” Hornets coach Byron Scott said. “Defensively we were very aggressive, pretty much from the start, and we kept the momentum up for 48 minutes.”

New Orleans point guard Chris Paul overcame a slow start offensively to score 22 points and get 14 assists. Morris Peterson scored 12 points and Jannero Pargo had 10 off the bench.

Hornets center Tyson Chandler left the game due to a turf toe injury on his left foot, but said afterward that he was OK. West played with a sore back. Scott said he thinks Chandler and West will be able to play in Game 4 but more should be known today.

“We knew the magnitude of this game,” Paul said. “We were aggressive tonight and we weren’t the last two games. We’ve got to find a way to bring the same energy in San Antonio and put it together for four quarters. The home team has won every game in this series and we have to change that.”

Manu Ginobili led the Spurs with 20 points, Tony Parker scored 18, and Tim Duncan and Bruce Bowen had 10 each. Duncan made just 5-of-18 shots, but grabbed 23 rebounds.

“They were excellent defensively,” Duncan said of the Hornets. “They did a great job of crowding the lane and getting back to our shooters. On the post they were very good and very physical, and we didn’t shoot well so those opportunities were coming back at us. They used their defense to get into transition and force it back at us.”

The third quarter has been kind to the home team throughout the series and Game 5 was no different. The Hornets trailed by three at the half, but four points by West and a basket by Paul put them ahead by one point.