Hornets ‘bounce’ top seeds in Western and Eastern Conference

[Comment Below]

By Brad Esta

The battle for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference took place in the New Orleans Arena last Wednesday night. The Houston Rockets (47-23), who had their 22 game winning streak, the second longest in NBA history, snapped the game before by the Boston Celtics, came to visit the New Orleans Hornets with the No. 1 seed in the West on the line.

Former Rocket Bonzi Wells took over in the fourth quarter as he doubled the Rockets score of 10, by scoring 20 of his 25 points in the quarter to preserve the win. David West recorded a double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Chris Paul added 21 points, 10 assists, and four steals, to help guide the Hornets back atop the Southwestern division, and the West overall. All of the Rockets scored in double figures, as Tracy McGrady led the team with 15, followed closely by Luis Scola and Shane Battier who each had 14, and Rafer Alston and Dikembe Mutombo with 10. Mutombo also had 13 rebounds and 2 blocked shots in the game.

The Rockets struggled in the second half as they scored only 25 points, 15 and 10 in the third and fourth quarters respectively, as the Hornets would more than double that in the win with 51 in the second half, to help lead them to a 90-69 win. The bench was the downfall for the Rockets as they were outscored by the Hornets bench 33- 6.

Saturday night, the Hornets took on not only the best team in the East, but the best team in the whole league in the Boston Celtics (55-14). The Celtics had just come off of a very rare “Texas Triangle” sweep (the “Texas Triangle” is composed of the Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, and San Antonio Spurs). The home crowd came out strong Saturday night as they set a new attendance record for the year at 18,280.

The Hornets (47-21) picked the wrong night for players to be in foul trouble; Chris Paul would only play about 29 minutes due to foul trouble, but the Hornets would not quit. David West had a stellar night with 37 points to help lead the Hornets to a 113-106 win over the Celtics. Chris Paul added 19 points and seven assists along with two steals. The bench showed off its productivity with both Jannero Pargo and Bonzi Wells scoring in double figures with 15 and 12 points respectively. It was Wells’ stellar defense which helped the Hornets win the game, with 6 of his 8 steals coming in the fourth quarter in which the Celtics were outscored 32-17.

The Celtics’ “Big Three” helped them to a fast start as they would lead by double digits for most of the first half and lead by 10 at halftime. Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 28 points, Kevin Garnett would add 19 points and 12 rebounds, and Ray Allen would score 17. Besides the Celtics’ “Big Three,” Rajon Rondo had a big night with 23 points to go along with seven assists.

In the past two games the Hornets have used defense in the second half to spark their comebacks. In the past two games the Hornets have outscored the Rockets and Celtics by a combined score of 109-66 in the second half. Most of the differential came in the fourth quarters as they have outscored their two opponents by the score of 63-27. The Hornets have shown that, just as good teams can do, no matter the deficit they are always in the game. Also this week the Hornets have launched CP3MVP.com. With Chris Paul being a serious candidate for the MVP award everyone should check out the site and show their support for Paul and the Hornets organization.

Up next, the Hornets, who have 14 games left in the season, will be on the road for 10 of them. They will play six games in 10 days starting Tuesday night against the Indiana Pacers, which will also be the beginning of a five-game road trip. Followed by the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night, a rematch against the Boston Celtics on Friday night, and the Orlando Magic on Tuesday April 1, as the Hornets will take on three of the top four seeds in the East on their road trip.

Around the NBA, three teams have already ensured their spots in the playoffs, all coming from the Eastern conference – the Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic. On the flip side, five teams have been eliminated from the playoffs with the Miami Heat (NBA champions from two years ago) being the lone team from the East to be eliminated. The other four teams are from the West – the Seattle Supersonics, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Clippers.

Originally Published: Issue 601 - March 26, 2008

Share on Facebook

Back to the top