The Clippers were without Al Thornton, and the Hornets were without James Posey, Peja Sojakovic, and Tyson Chandler. Guess who got the better of this one? Behind 30 points and 14 assists from Chris Paul, New Orleans beat L.A. by a score of 104-98.
This was a close game throughout, and one that saw the Clippers trail by just three at the break, before the Hornets were able to extend their lead to nine at the end of three quarters. But L.A. went on a 20-10 run over the first half of the fourth, and took a one-point lead on a jumper from Eric Gordon at 89-8 with about five and a half minutes remaining.
Chris Paul, however, was the difference maker. He had eight points and three assists over the game's final five minutes, and sealed the win by hitting two free throws with under 20 seconds remaining.
Eric Gordon led the Clips with 25 points on 10-of-18 shooting,and Zach Randolph finished with 24 points and 14 rebounds. Baron Davis had a quietly efficient game with 13 points, five rebounds, and 12 assists.
With the Hornets missing so many key players, their head coach allowed an injured David West to limo his way through the game, simply because he said that he could.
"Coach just said to me, `If you can go, we'll let you play.' He looked at me every few minutes or so, asking me how I was feeling. The other guys did a good job protecting me on the defensive end and not leaving me out there by myself. So it worked out for us."
West has been bothered by an ankle injury, but since his team was so shorthanded, he managed to grind out a 19 point, three rebound performance.
