Hornets Lead Mavs 3-1 After A Stomping In Big D

It hasn’t happened this decade, the last time it happened was when the Charlotte Hornets walked out of Big D with a 94-92 victory over the Mavs in 1998. After an 0-12 run at American Airlines Center, the Hornets Finally get a win in Dallas. Dallas, by the way, is winless this year at the Hive, however, they have gotten many victories in the New Orleans Arena in the past. Dallas shot very poorly in this game, much like the Hornets did in their loss Friday night. The Bees will take a 3-1 lead back to the Big Easy Tuesday night which could be the last time the Hornets will have to deal with the Mavericks this season.

DALLAS, April 27 (AP) - David West and Chris Paul were on the bench, smiling as they watched thousands of fans headed to their cars.

They were soaking it all in because it might be their last glimpse of Dallas for a while.

West bounced back from a miserable Game 3 with a determined effort in Game 4, scoring 10 points in an early second half rally that sent the Hornets surging past the Mavericks 97-84 on Sunday night, giving them a 3-1 lead in the first-round series.

West had 24 points and nine rebounds, Paul had 16 points, eight assists and seven rebounds and the Hornets ended an 0-for-14 drought in Dallas that dated to January 1998. Now they’re headed to New Orleans, hoping to win Game 5 on Tuesday night and avoid coming back to Big D until next season. The Mavericks are on the brink of a second straight first-round exit.

“It’s a great feeling to be up 3-1, but it doesn’t mean too much right now,” Paul said. “It’s tough to close out a team, to get that fourth win. That’s what coach has been preaching to us. We feel pretty confident going back in front of our fans.”

Dirk Nowitzki had 22 points and 13 rebounds and Jason Terry scored 20 points, but they didn’t get much help. Josh Howard was 3-for-16 and Jason Kidd had only three points, three assists and four rebounds before getting ejected with 7:16 left for a flagrant foul on Jannero Pargo. The exodus in the aisles came soon after, even before Hornets coach Byron Scott pulled his starters.

“At that point, we’d done close to what we needed to get the result we wanted,” West said.

The Mavs went from scoring 30 points in the first quarter to 14 in the second quarter, then 40 in the entire second half.

Dallas’ meltdown - in this game, in this series and since being up 2-0 on Miami in the finals two years ago - might end up costing coach Avery Johnson his job. Nowitzki already was using the past tense in his postgame comments, saying they just didn’t have enough offense in the series.

“I don’t really have an answer for it,” said Nowitzki, exhaling loudly and running a hand through his hair in frustration. “All season long, we’ve lost leads way too quick. … Everybody has to be in attack mode. You have to make shots to win in this league.”

New Orleans did, hitting 50 percent. Peja Stojakovic scored 19 points and Julian Wright added 11, including a tremendous dunk off a midcourt steal of Jerry Stackhouse, a play that emphasized the difference in the age and agility of these teams.

“West Powers Hornets Past Mavs For a 3-1 Lead”. NBA.com. April 28, 2008. “http://www.nba.com/games/20080427/NOHDAL/recap.html”.

Hornets Have 2-0 Lead On Dallas After a Thorough Four Quarter Beatdown

It was never even close. The Hornets had a comfortable 10 point lead at the end of the first quarter, an even more comfortable 16 point lead at halftime, and ultimately won the game by 24, 127-103. This domination was largely due to stellar, lights out defense and shooting percentage through the roof. It seemed like everyone was making shots out there for the Hornets. They were 60.8% on field goals, 55.6 on 3 pointers, and 75% at the line. The Bees also broke numerous playoff records including points in a playoff game (127), Points at the half (67), and points at the end of he first quarter (39).

Paul also got the team record for assists in a playoff game with 17; and if that wasn’t enough, he also became the first player in NBA history to record at least 30 points, 10 assists, and 3 steals in 2 consecutive playoff games, oh and by the way, these are the first two playoff games he’s played in his career!

The series will shift to Dallas on Friday wwhere the Hornets are 0-11 this decade.

NEW ORLEANS, April 22 (AP) — Dirk Nowitzki skipped out to the perimeter, joining Jason Kidd as they attempted to trap Chris Paul.

Paul promptly let them know they were in for long night, knifing into the lane on the dribble and dropping in a pretty floater.

As brilliant as Paul was in his playoff debut last weekend, his encore was better.

Paul had 32 points and a franchise playoff-record 17 assists, leading New Orleans to a 127-103 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night that gave the Hornets a 2-0 lead in their first-round series.

The old record was 15 assists, set by Muggsy Bogues in 1993.

“Sitting there watching Chris really develop into the best point guard in this league, it’s amazing to watch how he’s really (taken) his game to another level,” Hornets coach Byron Scott said. “But that’s what great players do. He’s definitely one of the best on this league right now.”

David West scored 27 points and Peja Stojakovic 22 for New Orleans, which took a double-digit lead in the second quarter, led by as much as 25 in the third and never looked back.

Tyson Chandler had his second double-double of the series with 10 points and 11 rebounds, despite playing with foul trouble. Morris Peterson added 12 points and reserve guard Jannero Pargo had 10 for New Orleans, which was 10-of-18 on 3-pointers, with Stojakovic hitting 5-of-7.

“They were going to try some gimmick stuff” against Paul, West said. “It was key that we had the confidence with the ball out of his hands for us to make plays. Peja hit shots, Mo was able to hit some shots. It really disrupted what they were trying to do.”

The series now moves to Dallas, where the Hornets have not won since January 1998. But that streak will end if the Mavericks don’t figure out how to slow down Paul and a supporting cast that has been playing with enormous confidence since the Hornets stormed back from a 12-point hole to win the series opener.

“We’ll take a look at some things, but we’ve got to have a better effort,” Dallas coach Avery Johnson said. “We’ve got to go home and get some home cooking. … They protected their home court; we have a chance to go home and do the same thing. Like I’ve been saying all along, they are a No. 2 seed that deserves to be No. 2 and we’ve got to play much better.”

Nowitzki led Dallas with 27 points, but spent most of the night looking frustrated, yelling at no one in particular after he threw one pass out of bounds. Brandon Bass was a bright spot for Dallas, muscling inside for 19 points. Reserve Jason Terry added 16 points and Josh Howard scored 10.

“We just got outplayed and outfought. They outworked us on both ends of the floor,” Terry said. “We have to play a lot harder and just fight. We have a lot of guys with pride in this locker room. When you take a butt-kicking like that, you can only dig deep and come out swinging.”

The Mavs hoped Kidd would be a bigger factor in this game, but he finished with only seven points and eight assists. Johnson, however, declined to single out Kidd or anyone else.

“It’s not one person,” he said “It’s a team game, and collectively the team has to do a better job on both ends.”

After Paul’s dazzling 35-point, 10-assist performance in Game 1, Johnson said the Mavs would throw more double-teams at Paul, hoping to get the ball out of the star point guard’s hands.

The strategy backfired badly from the start. Paul easily split or dribbled around double-teams, scoring six points and assisting on eight baskets in the first quarter.

His crossover, between-the-legs and behind-the-back dribbles set up an array of running floaters, fades and jumpers. He found West for several open jumpers and a dunk. He twice found Chandler for alley-oop dunks. The Hornets shot a whopping 71 percent and set a franchise playoff record with 39 first-quarter points.

“They put the ball in Paul’s hands. We tried to trap him some early, but if West is going to be wide open at the top of the key, he’s making the shot,” Nowitzki said. “It’s tough to get the ball out of his hands if the shooters are shooting like that.”

Dallas got its deficit briefly back to single digits behind 16 first-half points from Nowitzki and 10 from Howard.

But the Mavs hurt themselves with seven turnovers in the second period, which the Hornets converted into 10 points, often in transition, as they widened their lead to 67-51 by halftime.

Whatever adjustments the Mavs made at the break, their plight only got worse.

Paul scored six quick points on two free throws, a driving layup and a running floater, then Stojakovic hit two jumpers, the second for his fourth 3 of the game, giving New Orleans an 80-58 lead.

Peterson then got involved with two 3s and jumper, and the Hornets, who shot 64 percent through three quarters, led 90-66 after West scored while backing in on Bass.

Bass, a force inside during this game, responded with nine points during the remainder of the period, making it 99-79 heading into the final period.

Early in the fourth, Paul scored six quick points on a runner in the lane, an off-balance floater off the glass and a pull-up jumper, putting the Hornets in the clear.

When asked if there was a way for Dallas to stop him, Paul replied, “I’m sure there is, but to me, I hope not.”

“Paul Tallies 32 Points and Team Playoff-Record 17 Dimes.” NBA.com. April 23, 2008. “http://www.nba.com/games/20080422/DALNOH/recap.html.”