With a 114-92 win over the LA Clippers Tuesday night, New Orleans became the Southwest Division champion. After winning only 18 games a few years back, the accomplishment means that much more.

New Orleans is no worse than the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.

{mosimage}Chris Paul gets first postseason triple double as hornets finish off mavs in a close game.
 

March 13, 2008 - The New Orleans Hornets dropped the San Antonio Spurs Thursday night 100 to 75.  With the victory, the Hornet's climb a half game out of first place where the Rockets and Spurs are tied.

{sidebar id=9}David West’s sprained left ankle kept him from running in practice and forced him to miss three games, but didn’t stop him from trying to maintain his shooting touch.

In his return against San Antonio on Wednesday night, West had 29 points and 10 rebounds to help the New Orleans Hornets take a convincing 100-75 victory over the Southwest Division leading Spurs.

“I stayed in the gym,” West said of his absence from the lineup. “I wasn’t able to run, but I was able to shoot. It was just coming out ready to compete, feeling like I was ready to go tonight. It was big. I was ready to get back out there.”

Chris Paul had 26 points and 17 assists as New Orleans pulled within a half-game of the division lead behind the Spurs and Houston Rockets.

Many of his assists came on baskets by West, who made everything from mid-range jumpers to tough fades on the baseline, jump hooks from the post or driving floaters off the glass. He even hit a 3-pointer, which gave New Orleans a 91-71 lead with 5 minutes to go—a dagger that led both coaches to replace all of their starters.

Paul's 26 points, 17 assists, lead Hornets past Spurs, 100-75 - NBA - From Yahoo! Sports

Game Highlights

As recently as the 2004-05 season, the New Orleans Hornets were an NBA joke with an 18-64 record. It looks like the coach of that team, Byron Scott, will get the last laugh. 

{mosimage}As recently as the 2004-05 season, the New Orleans Hornets were an NBA joke with an 18-64 record. It looks like the coach of that team, Byron Scott, will get the last laugh.

Fast Facts

• An all-rookie selection in 1983-84, Byron Scott averaged 14.1 points in a 14-year NBA career.

• Scott was a part of three Los Angeles Lakers championship teams.

• Scott has a 300-316 record in eight coaching seasons in the NBA, leading the Nets to two NBA Finals appearances.

-- ESPN Research

Before the Hornets take on the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of their first-round Western Conference playoff series on Tuesday, Scott will be named the NBA Coach of the Year, according to multiple media reports. ESPN.com confirmed the reports on Monday night.

The Houston Rockets’ winning streak is getting serious. So is their march to the top of the Western Conference.

Tracy McGrady scored 41 points Saturday night and the Rockets stretched their winning streak to 18 games with a 106-96 victory over the New Orleans Hornet  

The Rockets have won their last nine games by double digits and moved into a tie with the Hornets in the overall conference standings. Houston, 13-15 in mid-December, closed within one game of San Antonio in the Southwest Division.

With two wins in three meetings with the Hornets this season, the Rockets have the third-best record in the conference. Only the Los Angeles Lakers and Spurs are ahead of Houston and that was motivating McGrady more than the winning streak before the game.

“The third spot,” said McGrady. “Once I heard that this morning, I was like, ‘OK. Let’s get it done.”

The Rockets have the NBA’s longest victory streak since the Lakers won 19 in a row in the 1999-2000 season. Houston became just the seventh team in history to win 18 or more consecutive games—five of the previous six won the NBA championship.

Source: McGrady scores 41, Rockets beat Hornets 106-96 in 18th straight win - NBA - Yahoo! Sports


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