Hornets topple Lakers

Dec 7, 2006, 6:35 GMT

Los Angeles, CA - Chris Paul led a balanced Hornets attack with 26 points and dished out 11 assists, as New Orleans/Oklahoma City snapped a five-game skid with a 105-89 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Kobe Bryant, playing despite a sprained right ankle he suffered in Monday's win over Indiana, led the Lakers with 24 points, but Los Angeles had a three- game winning streak broken and fell to 10-3 at home.

'Kobe was hurting, you could see that,' Hornets coach Byron Scott said. 'But half of Kobe is better than 50 percent of the guys in this league.'

Rasual Butler had 22 points and Jannero Pargo set a season-high with 21 points for the Hornets, who had lost five straight on the road to the Lakers.

'We got energy from everyone,' Scott added. 'We played good defense in the second half. We played a lot harder tonight than the last three or four games.'

Two free throws by Lamar Odom had the Lakers within 82-81 with 8:26 remaining, but Pargo responded with a three-pointer, and after Odom missed a shot, Butler nailed a jumper for an 87-81 margin.

Odom's layup had the Lakers within 91-87 with 5:18 left, but the Hornets scored the next seven points, capped by Pargo's three with two minutes left for an insurmountable 98-87 advantage.

'We played bad. I didn't take care of the ball,' said Odom, who had seven turnovers. 'They were charged up and outplayed us. Any given night, any team can win and tonight we took it on the chin.'

Desmond Mason had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Hornets, who also got 10 points and 12 boards from Tyson Chandler.

Odom had 20 points and Luke Walton scored 11 for the Lakers, who went 3-of-19 from three-point range.

The Lakers led 34-30 after 12 minutes, but the Hornets came back to grab a 54-52 edge at the half. The visitors also led 75-71 going into the fourth.

'We communicated tonight,' Paul said. 'Everyone played with a lot of energy and we did a great job rebounding.'

Game Notes

The Hornets outrebounded the Lakers, 49-31.

Paul ended 11-of-22 from the field.

Kwame Brown had nine points and nine rebounds for LA.

© 2006 The Sports Network