NEW ORLEANS—If Chris Paul and the Hornets keep this up, New Orleans may yet become a basketball town.
Paul had 23 points, 17 assists and nine rebounds, and the Hornets ran away with their ninth straight win, 117-93 over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night.
When Paul emerged from a scrum under the basket in the fourth quarter, nimbly dribbling out to the perimeter to reset another Hornets possession, a jubilant crowd rose to its feet, chanting, “M-V-P!”
“As long as we continue to play like we’re playing, I think it’s not only fun for us as a team but it’s fun for the crowd,” Paul said.
In Monday night’s other NBA games, it was: Charlotte 107, the Los Angeles Clippers 100; Utah 97, San Antonio 91; and Dallas 103, Memphis 84
Certainly, fans around here—where the Jazz never made the playoffs in five seasons before moving to Utah—have never seen so many dominant victories strung together in such a short time.
The Hornets were mediocre in their first two seasons in New Orleans and won only 18 games in their third before Hurricane Katrina displaced the team for two seasons to Oklahoma City.
In their first season since returning full-time, the Hornets have won 21 games by double digits and proved in Saturday’s 102-78 victory at San Antonio that they can do it anywhere, against any team.
Denver had little chance, especially with Carmelo Anthony sidelined for a fourth-straight game with a sprained left ankle.
The Hornets built a 20-point lead in the first half and maintained that margin through most of the final two periods.
Allen Iverson could only provide the Nuggets a glimmer of hope when he converted a pair of driving layups to cut the score to 91-76 early in the fourth quarter.
But the Hornets quickly sealed it with a 12-0 run that started when Paul set up Melvin Ely for a score inside and finished on Paul’s lob to rookie Julian Wright for an alley-oop dunk.
New Orleans ended up shooting 51 percent for the game and outrebounded Denver 52-33.
“You’ve got to take your hat off to those guys,” Iverson said. “They’ve got great players on their team. They’re well-coached. They’re going to be tough to handle.”
Iverson led Denver with 23 points, but got little help other than from Kenyon Martin, who scored 18.
Down the stretch, the crowd repeatedly chanted superlatives in recognition of a masterful performance by Paul, who is New Orleans’ best hope for a representative in the All-Star game when coaches elect the reserves this week.
Hornets coach Byron Scott said he would be “shocked” if Paul wasn’t invited to the All-Star game. Paul said he has other short-term goals.
“The only thing that’s on my mind right now, to tell you the truth, is to get my coaches in the All-Star game,” Paul said. “I’m looking at the standings all day, every day, right now. I think that would be the greatest feeling for me if (Scott) could coach in that game.”
That will happen if the Hornets (32-12) remain in their surprising perch atop the powerful Western Conference until Feb. 3.
“I am not ready to jump on their bandwagon, but they’re pretty good and I’m not sure what weakness they have,” Nuggets coach George Karl said. “Chris Paul is a great point guard. He can go anywhere he wants to go. They have size, they have shooters, they play as a team, they have a good bench … . One can argue they have an All-Star player at four positions.”
Bobcats 107, Clippers 100
In Los Angeles, Gerald Wallace had 23 points, eight assists and six rebounds, and Jason Richardson added 20 points.
Emeka Okafor had 14 points and nine rebounds for the Bobcats, who won on the road for only the fourth time in 17 tries this season despite going the final 5:13 without a field goal. Their other three road victories were at Miami, Boston and Chicago.
Tim Thomas had a season-high 29 points and 13 rebounds for the Clippers, who were missing Chris Kaman and Corey Maggette.
Jazz 97, Spurs 91
In Salt Lake City, Deron Williams had 11 points and 14 assists and Utah won its fifth straight game.
Carlos Boozer and Andrei Kirilenko scored 23 points each for the Jazz, who controlled the team that dominated them in the Western Conference finals last season. The Spurs, who won the playoff series in five games, never led Monday night.
Tim Duncan had 26 points and 11 rebounds and Manu Ginobili scored 29 points for the Spurs, who were knocked around by Utah’s physical play. San Antonio committed 20 turnovers.
Mavericks 103, Grizzlies 84
In Memphis, Tenn., Josh Howard hit his first eight shots on the way to 26 points and Dallas shot 54 percent.
Howard finished 10-for-17 for Dallas, which has won four straight and 12 of its last 14. It also was the Mavericks’ 13th straight win over the Grizzlies, including a sweep of Memphis in the opening round of the 2006 playoffs.
Dirk Nowitzki added 20 points and 11 rebounds and Jason Terry finished with 14 points for the Mavericks. Erick Dampier contributed 11 points and 12 rebounds in the first game of a four-game trip that will take Dallas to Boston, Detroit and Orlando.
Rudy Gay led Memphis with 18 points, Kyle Lowry scored 17 and Juan Carlos Navarro had 16 points. Pau Gasol, finished with 13 points for Memphis, which lost its third game in the last four.
