Stojakovic sizzles again

• By SHELDON MICKLES
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: May 6, 2008 - UPDATED: 6:20 a.m.

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NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans Hornets guard Morris Peterson has one word to describe the deft shooting touch of forward Peja Stojakovic so far in the NBA playoffs.

“Unbelievable,” Peterson marveled late Tuesday night after Stojakovic poured in 25 points in the Hornets’ 102-84 thrashing of the San Antonio Spurs. “Unbelievable.

“He’s filling it up right now,” Peterson said. “He’s probably the best shooter I’ve ever played with.”

While Stojakovic has been adequate from the floor in the Hornets’ 6-1 run through the playoffs, making 47.7 percent of his shots, he’s been lights-out from 3-point range.

After torching the Dallas Mavericks for 17 3-pointers in 28 attempts in a first-round series, Stojakovic has continued his hot shooting against the defending champion Spurs in the Western Conference semifinals.

On Monday night, he nailed his first 3-point shot to break a 10-10 tie midway through the first quarter and went on to make 5 of 7 from beyond the arc in the Hornets’ runaway win, helping his team to a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Stojakovic has hit no worse than 50 percent of his 3-point shots in the Hornets’ seven playoff games. He’s knocked down 24 of 39, good for a sizzling 61.5 percent from beyond the arc.

“I’m just trying to be aggressive, trying not to force anything,” a smiling Stojakovic said. “All the guys have been doing a good job, especially C.P. (point guard Chris Paul). I’m not saying we’re all playing great, but we’re playing great team basketball — especially on the defensive end.

“Our offense depends on how good we defend,” he explained. “We get the rebounds and get in the open court. And when Chris is playing like this, we’re going to do good.”

When asked if Hornets’ fans are experiencing one of the hottest streaks of his 10-year NBA career, Stojakovic thought for a second and said, “You never know. Some nights you make them and some nights you don’t. I’m just trying to stay focused.”

That focus is making the Hornets better as a team, Paul said.

“Peja’s shooting opens up the court for the rest of us,” said Paul, who wasn’t bad himself in scoring 30 points and handing out 12 assists. “His shooting has been unbelievable.”

Stojakovic sank at least one 3-pointer in each quarter Tuesday night. He was 3-for-4 in the first half and then knocked in 2-of-3 in the second half when the Hornets outscored the Spurs, 60-41.