(Hornets lead series 2-0)
* Postgame quotes, notes, more in Hornets.com's Courtside Live blog
By: Jim Eichenhofer, Hornets.com
The big story entering Game 2 was whether the Mavericks could find a way to slow down Chris Paul. Answer: An emphatic “no.” The third-year MVP candidate put up even better statistics than he did Saturday, finishing with 32 points and 17 assists. As it turned out, Dallas couldn’t stop anyone else in a New Orleans uniform, either.
The Hornets established franchise records for points in a playoff quarter, half and game, rolling to a dominating rout over the Mavericks. The Mavs’ emphasis on denying Paul from having a big night appeared to create better scoring chances for his teammates. New Orleans, which shot a scorching 61 percent from the field, also received 27 points from David West (11-for-17) and 22 from Peja Stojakovic (8-for-13). Three other Hornets reached double figures in scoring as well.
Paul: “David West kept telling me leading up to this game, ‘If they trap you, we’re going to make plays.’ That’s what we did early in the game.
“I got rid of the ball, and (Morris Peterson), DWest and Peja all made shots. It really got (Dallas) out of (the double-teaming strategy of Paul).”
“You’ve got to give them credit, because they were on fire tonight,” reigning MVP Dirk Nowitzki said. “You’re not going to win too many games giving up 130 points.”
With New Orleans grabbing a 2-0 lead, reporters immediately began firing questions at Paul about the Hornets’ lengthy losing streak in Dallas. The Hornets haven’t won there since 1998.
“We’re not blind to the fact that Muggsy (Bogues) was probably running the point the last time we won in Dallas,” Paul said. “We understand that we have a great opportunity to go in there and go up 3-0. We’ve got to go in and accept the challenge.”
Hornets Update
After each 2008 Hornets playoff game, we’ll break down New Orleans player-by-player performances:
STARTERS
Chris Paul: I saw several lists over the past few days that ranked CP’s Game 1 performance of 35 and 10 among the best in NBA history for a guy making his playoff debut. He wasn’t required to put the team on his back in Game 2, because the rest of the club played significantly better this time, but from a bottom-line standpoint, he may have been even more effective. His stat line of 32 points, 17 assists, three steals and five rebounds was spectacular. Also take a look at Jason Kidd’s numbers: seven points, eight assists, four rebounds and 3-for-10 shooting. The point-guard battle has been a landslide, when some thought the 35-year-old Kidd might teach his 22-year-old counterpart a thing or two about playoff basketball.
Morris Peterson (player blog): One of the best games he’s played lately, with 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting. He was aggressive looking for his shot early in the game and made most of them.
Peja Stojakovic: He’s been great in the first two games, going 9-for-15 from three-point range. It’s been tough enough for Dallas to account for Paul and West, but with Peja burying three-pointers, especially as a trailer in transition, the Mavericks are scrambling for solutions defensively.
David West: You knew he’d have a big game when he started burying jumpers moments after the opening tip-off. He finished with 27 points, including 12 during the Hornets’ 39-point first-period eruption. After a slow start shooting-wise in Game 1, he has killed the Mavs with his multi-skilled offensive game. He also tacked on a shot-clock-beating three-pointer for good measure in the fourth quarter Tuesday.
Tyson Chandler: Feasted again on alley oops Tuesday, throwing down three dunks off lob passes. The play has an even bigger effect at home than on the road, because it sparks the home fans. Chandler is averaging 10 points and 13 boards after two games.
RESERVES
Jannero Pargo (player blog): Great bounceback offensive game after going 1-for-9 in Game 1. He scored all of his 10 points in the first half, keying New Orleans’ record-breaking 67-point half.
Hilton Armstrong: Like Mo Pete, this was the best game he’s played recently. He scored eight points, aggressively taking the ball to the rim. That point production was the most he’s had since Feb. 9 in Memphis, when he tallied 11.
Bonzi Wells: Only took three shots but scored four points. Did some nice work on the defensive end, including picking off two passes for a pair of steals in 19 minutes.
Julian Wright (player blog): Had a fourth-quarter dunk after the outcome was decided. Played about five minutes in each half.
Ryan Bowen: Subbed in for the final 3:41. Hornets were up 122-97 by then.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
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10 comments:
One can only speculate this early in the play-offs but one thing is certain. This team HAS what it takes to win the Finals against any team. The biggest reason to Hornets success is the team in a whole from Mr Scott to the 10th man on the bench.
Paul is a future legend to some but to me he already is. Its a joy to watch this genius of a player having in mind that what you see is rare and might take 20-30 years to reappear in this league again... if ever.
When I say to my friends that Paul is the new Isiah and Magic combined into one times 5 they laugh at me. I lean back and let time prove them wrong.
MJ, you could fly but not this high. B-Ball IQ will dethrone you you your Airness!
CP3 4 MVP!
Hornets all the way!
Wow, that game was nearly flawless. We just took it to them. We can't be THAT good, can we?
Actually, we probably are.
CP3 > Playoff experience.
Now, we need to take one game in Dallas, although two would be nice. Yes, the Hornets are spoiling me.
Oh my, i'm gonna watch the game this afternoon, but i'm already sure this was THE Game, WOW, simply unbelievable!
The one thing that impressed me about game two is the patience and poise that the Hornets showed, especially in the first quarter. With all the pre-game talk of how Dallas was going to guard Chris Paul differently, CP3 and the rest of the Hornets took their time and made the right play without rushing (only 6 turnovers for the game). The ball movement was crisp and sharp and thus the ball got to the right players at the right time (Peja hitting a few 3s and the lobs from CP3 to TC in the first quarter). With other Hornets making shots, it opened things up and made things easier for CP3 and the rest of his mates in the second half as Dallas had no answer for the Hornets offensive attack.
Hornets came to play as a determined team. Beautiful sight to see. This might be the best game yet! Cool under pressure-just like Coach Scott.
Great Job. Onward- GO HORNETS!
LOYAL FAN
Dejan,
As much as I want to tell you to slow down and not get carried away, what's the point of that? Everyone should kick back for the next three days and enjoy this. The team has been through so much the past couple years that to me this is especially sweet. Dejan, you're talking "NBA Finals" and that CP is the kind of player we only see every "20 or 30 years if ever." Wow. But just about anything seems possible right now.
Jono,
I don't think we can expect them to play that well again (or maybe they can?). One thing I've been thinking about after these first two games is that the homecourt edge now has here is no joke. Not that the Hornets want it to come down to this, but they could make the West finals without winning a road game if they can keep doing this in the Hive.
Mtorres,
Good point about how well they took care of the ball. That was probably lost amid all the talk about how well the Hornets shot. Meanwhile, the Mavs have thrown passes over teammates' heads and into the third row on several possessions. They've been too sloppy to win on the road, including a couple shot-clock violations where they didn't seem to be aware that the clock was winding down. There was one play Tuesday where they had a 3-on-1 break and Devean George pulled up for an off-balance 10-footer that was way off the mark. Avery Johnson was standing about 15 feet from me and looked disgusted (or at the least, baffled). They just seem to be discombobulated right now. Even Dirk said they aren't playing with any fire.
Wow 2-0 against Dallas : )
To be honnest, I'm not really surprised by our victory but I wasn't expecting us to play that well, especially CP3 who wasn't shooting well at the end of the season.
Good surprise are Hilton and MoPete, I think they played some good minutes in the serie. Now I hope to see more from Bonzi and Juju.
I don't think that Dallas can't stop us, even at home. We just have to be careful at the begining of the game and pray that the refs won't give Dirk FTs every time he flopps.
By the way Jim, can you tell me when will we know who are the MVP and COY please ??
Antoine from France.
Antoine, we don't know when the league is planning to announce the awards you mentioned. They usually try to announce the MVP at a home playoff game for whomever wins it.
Recent MVP winners such as Steve Nash and Kevin Garnett were presented the trophy prior to playoff home games in Phoenix and Minnesota. In a memorable case in 1995, David Robinson was given the MVP trophy prior to the Western Conference finals against Houston -right before the Rockets' Hakeem Olajuwon dominated the Admiral.
If you remember, in 2007 Dirk Nowitzki's Mavericks were already eliminated by the time the league held the ceremony, which was unfortunate because it made for kind of an awkward ceremony, instead of a "celebration."
I wish I could tell you more, but I really don't have any inkling as to when it will be announced. It hasn't followed any set schedule in the past, making it difficult to predict.
Well thank you very much for your answer : )
Yeah you're right, I remember last year when Dirk got it, pretty sad for him...
So I hope that they'll give it to Paul before the first game against San Antonio =)
Antoine from France.
Hornets fans,
Game 3 is the game where we need to jump on the Mavs immediately and even further lower their confidence. I really do not believe they will be able to slow CP3. He is too quick and when we are hitting like the past 2 games we are very dangerous. Seems like CP3 and DWest get a ton of pub which is understandable, the Most Overlooked part of our team is Tyson. Our whole defense revolves around his activity on the boards and intimidating presence. Nothing but Love for Tyson. Lets keep it going in game 3 and knock them down 3-0. Pumped for game. My whole street block is shutting down for the game.
Hungry4PlayoffWins
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