Hornets rip Spurs, 102-84

• By LES EAST
• Special to The Advocate
• Published: May 6, 2008 - Page: 1C - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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NEW ORLEANS — The San Antonio Spurs got a much better performance from Tim Duncan and did a much better job of controlling David West.

It didn’t matter as Chris Paul and Peja Stojakovic led the Hornets to their second straight drubbing of the defending NBA champion Spurs, 102-84, Monday night in the New Orleans Arena.

New Orleans has a 2-0 lead as it prepares to head to San Antonio for Game 3 on Thursday and Game 4 on Sunday.

West had scored a career playoff-high 30 points, and Duncan had tied his career playoff-low with five points, and had just three rebounds, as the Hornets rolled to a 101-82 victory in Game 1.

Similar performances by those two in Game 2 figured to lead to a similar result. Instead, the Hornets crafted nearly a carbon copy of the result with a much different blueprint.

Paul, who celebrates his 23rd birthday today, had 30 points and 12 assists. He made 11-of-20 field goals, 1-of-2 3-pointers, and 7-of-8 free throws.

“I guess this is an early birthday present,” Paul said. “The coaches and D. West were getting on me after Game 1 for passing up a lot of shots. I knew the only way to get these other guys open was for me to be aggressive so I tried to score as much as possible.”

Stojakovic scored 25, making 8-of-13 shots, including 5-of-7 3-pointers. Morris Peterson scored 12 points, making all five of his field goals. West scored 10 points on 2-of-10 shooting.

“We’re trying to make sure our defense is where we want to start,” West said. “We don’t worry about what’s happening on the offensive end. We knew they would be a lot more aggressive. We stuck with what we do and we made Duncan’s catches tough and didn’t let them get comfortable in their halfcourt sets.”

Duncan led the Spurs with 18 points (shooting 6-for-11) and eight rebounds. Brent Barry scored 14, Manu Ginobili had 13, and Tony Parker 11.

The Hornets, who turned around Game 1 by scoring 29 third quarter, came out of halftime to outscore the Spurs, 36-18, and turn a one-point halftime deficit into a 17-point lead entering the fourth quarter.

Stojakovic opened the scoring with a 3-pointer that triggered a 10-0 run. Ginobili scored four points as San Antonio got within seven.

Paul made a 3-pointer and two free throws as New Orleans built a 67-54 lead. After a 15-footer by Parker, Stojakovic made a 3-pointer to start a 7-0 run. Paul’s driving basket gave the Hornets a 78-61 lead at the end of the quarter.