Swamigp’s Weblog

Chris Paul scored 30 points and dished 12 assists to lead his New Orleans Hornets to another resounding victory over the San Antonio Spurs, 102-84. The Hornets took over in the 3rd quarter by outscoring the Spurs by 18, to take a 17 point lead into the 4th quarter. Paul made up greatly for the offensive absence of the previously dominant David West, who scored only 10 points on 2-11 shooting after he poured in 30 in game 1. Peja Stojakovic added 25 points, including 5 threes, to go with 6 rebounds. David West, despite the poor offensive outing, chipped in 10 rebounds and 5 assists. New Orleans shut down the Spurs in the third quarter after they had come back in the second period to take the halftime lead. The Spurs shot only 42% for the game and scored only 18 points in the pivotal third.

Tim Duncan bounced back from a horrid Game 1 to pace San Antonio with 18 points and 8 rebounds. They got good bench performances from both Manu Ginobili and Brent Barry, who scored 13 and 14 points, respectively. Ginobili also grabbed 4 rebounds and dished out 7 assists and Barry made 4 threes, but the defending champs didn’t get enough production from the rest of its starters besides Duncan. Tony Parker, who was brilliant in the first round series versus the Suns, shot 5-14 for 11 points. Bruce Bowen and Michael Finley, two outside shooters that the Spurs definitely needed to heat up, did not, scoring 4 points apiece, combining to shoot 3-14 from the floor.

Chris Paul ran the Hornets offense to perfection once again, especially in the third quarter. With West struggling, Paul repeatedly fed Stojakovic for outside shots, contributing to his 8-13 shooting, as he heated up during the period . Morris Peterson added 12 points, making all five shots from the field, including a three pointer in the decisive third period run. Paul, the runner-up for the MVP (because of Kobe’s lifetime achievement award since he hadn’t won one before) turned the ball over only once, as his team only coughed up the pill 8 times in the game, 4 of which coming from West.

San Antonio struggled throughout the game with turnovers, committing 15 in the game, 5 coming by way of Manu Ginobili, who turned the ball over on consecutive possession in the third, jump-starting the Hornets run.