NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Chris Paul had 24 points and 15 assists to lead the New Orleans Hornets to a 104-91 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night.
Peja Stojakovic also scored 24 points, highlighted by his five 3-pointers, and David West added 23 points and 14 rebounds for New Orleans, which has won five of its last six games.
Amare Stoudemire led Phoenix with 26 points, while Leandro Barbosa added 19 and Grant Hill 17. However, the Suns were unable to keep pace with guard Steve Nash sidelined because of an illness. Shaquille O’Neal also sat out for Phoenix, hoping to be fresh when the Suns play Thursday night at Dallas.
Phoenix led 63-60 midway through the third quarter after Stoudemire’s fast-break dunk, but that lead didn’t last long.
Paul found Tyson Chandler for a dunk, igniting an 11-1 run that included two 3s by Stojakovic and another by Devin Brown.
Raja Bell briefly interrupted the surge with a 3 from the corner, but Stojakovic responded with a fadeaway jumper as he was fouled and knocked to the floor. He hit the free throw for the three-point play, sparking an 11-2 run that gave New Orleans an 82-69 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Matt Barnes’ third 3-pointer of the game capped a 7-0 run that pulled Phoenix to 87-76 early in the fourth quarter. Later, Hill’s driving floater as he was fouled by James Posey pulled the Suns within 91-82 with 5:17 to go.
That was about as close as the Suns would get. Chandler slipped in behind Paul’s missed driving layup for a dunk, then Stojakovic’s fifth 3 of the game put the Hornets up 96-84, which proved to be plenty of a cushion for the Hornets with 3:01 to go.
The Suns missed O’Neal’s inside presence, as the Hornets outrebounded Phoenix 46-30. New Orleans grabbed a season-high 17 offensive rebounds, including six by Chandler.
New Orleans raced to a double-digit lead in the first quarter, when Paul scored 12 points and West 11. Paul’s 15-footer in the final second of the period made it 35-21.
Paul and West began the second quarter on the bench and watched Phoenix open the period on a 9-0 run before they checked back in. The return of the Hornets’ starters briefly stemmed the Suns’ surge, but Phoenix kept clawing back with the help of Barbosa’s three long jumpers, one from 3-point range.
Stoudemire’s short jump hook in the lane tied it at 46 with 2:27 to go in the second quarter, then Hill’s driving layup gave Phoenix a 48-47 lead shortly after. New Orleans fought back to take a 51-48 lead on Stojakovic’s jumper and led 51-50 at halftime.