Darren Collison did his best Chris Paul
impression with a team-high 24 points and four assists, as the short-handed
Hornets logged a solid road win against Charlotte, 104-99, at Time Warner
Cable Arena.
David West scored 21 points and Peja Stojakovic contributed 18 for New
Orleans, which avoided a season-high fourth straight loss and moved to 2-3
with Collison filling in for its star point guard, who had left knee surgery
this week and will be out a minimum of four weeks.
Emeka Okafor donated 16 points and seven rebounds in the win.
Stephen Jackson dropped 26 points and handed out six assists for the Bobcats,
who finished a 3-3 road trip with a tough 99-97 loss to the defending NBA
champion Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday.
Nazr Mohammed had 15 points and All-Star forward Gerald Wallace, who missed
the Lakers game with a strained left hamstring, returned to score 14 and grab
seven boards.
The Hornets carried a five-point lead into the fourth quarter, but the game
was quickly knotted at 83 after a Stephen Graham triple and Flip Murray dunk
inside the opening three minutes.
Morris Peterson, though, countered with consecutive three-pointers to spark a
12-2 run that gave New Orleans a 95-85 lead at the halfway point. James Posey
then hit from long distance and followed with a shorter jumper to take the
margin up to 12.
Wallace ran off five straight points for the hosts, but also missed a three-
pointer, one of several miscues in the final five minutes that prevented a
comeback. Murray failed to hit a single free throw in two trips to the line,
and Okafor made both his free throws to pump the visitors' lead to nine with
1:13 left.
A final effort saw Jackson hit from beyond the arc, then convert a
conventional three-point play with 30 seconds left for a 102-99 game. But
Collison came back with a driving layup and a final Jackson three-ball was off
the mark.
Charlotte led 26-21 after the opening quarter and ended the first half with a
15-6 run to gain a 10-point advantage, 53-43.
Jackson put in a layup and drained a three on consecutive Bobcat possessions
around the seven-minute mark of the third to hold down a 63-57 lead. But the
Hornets ripped off 10 straight points, the last eight from Collison to assume
a four-point edge.
The lead traded hands on the next several possessions, and New Orleans took a
79-74 lead into the final 12 minutes.
Game Notes
This was the Bobcats' first home game since their franchise-record nine-game
home winning streak was snapped January 23 by Orlando...D.J. Augustin chipped
in 13 points and five assists for Charlotte, which finished 18-of-27 at the
line...New Orleans shot 50.6 percent from the floor and sank 17-of-21 at the
line...Posey had 11 points and eight rebounds in the win.
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