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A solid all-around effort from New Orleans tonight gave them a big win over divisional foes Houston. The defense was impressive for much of the game and there was some nice balance to the offense with five guys scoring 12 points or more. They were able to weather multiple Rocket storms and hold their composure down the stretch, with David West and Darren Collison emerging as heroes for the second consecutive game.

102-94 the final score (box). The win gives the Hornets a 2-1 edge in the season series against Houston, meaning they can't lose that tiebreaker.

David West

Ryan noted that West had a "stealth game" on Friday against the Pacers, scoring 25+ points before anyone really knew what was happening. Tonight was another one of those games. West had just 8 points and 2 rebounds in the first half, battling double teams and missing 5 of his 7 shots. But the second half he found the double teams mostly absent and was able to take advantage of guys like Luis Scola and David Andersen. He also played away from the post more, running high picks with Collison and getting some jumpers and drives out of that.

West was at his best down the stretch, coming up with a big offensive board and dunk inside of the 2-minute mark, then hustling down the floor to grab the rebound on Trevor Ariza's missed three from the corner. He'd take the ball right to the rim after that and get to the free throw line. Just like that, the Hornets shaky 2-point lead had grown to 6 with 1:25 remaining.

West's numbers in the second half: 19 points, 6-11 FGs, 7-9 FTs, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal.

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A big divisional showdown for the Hornets and Rockets tonight in New Orleans. The Hornets are in ninth place in the Western Conference, and the Rockets are just a game behind in tenth. These teams have already played two of their four games against each other this season, splitting them 1-1. Tonight's game tips at 6 Central.

The Rockets are 28-26 on the season, 13-14 on the road. They shook things up at the trade deadline, shipping out Tracy McGrady, Carl Landry and Joey Dorsey in exchange for Kevin Martin, Hilton Armstrong (haha), Jordan Hill, Jared Jeffries and a couple of draft picks. Last night, in Houston's first game since the trade, Martin was the only newcomer to play against the visiting Pacers. He shot just 3-of-16 from the field as the Rockets lost for the fourth time in five games. Aaron Brooks led Houston with 26 points against the Pacers, while Luis Scola had 25 points and 11 rebounds.

On December 29 in Houston, David West scored a career-high 44 points and Chris Paul had a triple-double, but the Rockets still came away with a 108-100 win thanks to some hot outside shooting. The Hornets got their revenge four days later in New Orleans, beating the Rockets 99-95 when CP3 took over and led his team back from a 7-point deficit in the final three minutes.

The Rockets will of course be without Yao Ming, as they have been all season. Kyle Lowry has missed the last four games with an ankle sprain and will not be available tonight. Trevor Ariza re-aggravated a hip flexor injury last night against the Pacers but played through it. No word yet on his status for tonight.

Numbers:

Pace: Rockets 96.0 (8th), Hornets 94.7 (17th)
Offensive Efficiency: Rockets 103.6 (18th), Hornets 104.6 (13th)
Defensive Efficiency: Rockets 104.0 (14th), Hornets 105.3 (19th)

Linkage:

• Rival bloggers: Houston Chronicle | Red94 (THN) | The Dream Shake

(Many thanks to Dariusz for today's banner featuring Emeka Okafor. Be sure to check out more of Dariusz's designs in our Wallpapers vault.)

The Hornets were at home tonight so of course they went all Dr. Jekyll down the stretch and came away with a win over the Houston Rockets. The visitors appeared more poised and held the lead for the vast majority of the 48, but the Hornets did enough to keep within striking distance. Late in the fourth, big plays by Chris Paul, David West and James Posey made the difference.

99-95 the final score (box), and that would be a five-game winning streak at home.

Chris Paul

Nice battle between Aaron Brooks and Paul tonight. Neither guy can really contain the other. Brooks finished with 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting, but CP trumped him with 28 points (9-21 FGs) and 9 assists. Chris didn't settle much for the jumper despite coming up gimpy a few times during the game. He went right at Brooks from the start, and many of his clutch plays down the stretch came from within the paint. Not sure how he hit West so perfectly on that play to take the lead; not sure he ever so much as glanced in that direction.

Emeka Okafor

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Rockets in town tonight to face the Hornets. The first game of 2010 gets tipping at 7 Central.

We saw the Rockets just last Tuesday, when the Hornets lost 100-108 in Houston. David West put up a career-high 44 points and Chris Paul delivered a triple-double, but the Rockets rained threes and had a more balanced attack.

Since that game, the Rockets hosted and beat the Mavericks on New Year's Eve, bringing their record to 20-13. Meanwhile, the Hornets beat the visiting Heat on Wednesday.

Linkage:

• Earlier on the blog: A note about commenting
• Lagniappe: Highlights vs. Heat and Hornets events of the decade
• Rival bloggers: Houston Chronicle | Red94 (THN) | The Dream Shake

(Many thanks to Dariusz for the banner, today featuring Derrick Coleman with a look that sums up his career. Be sure to check out more of Dariusz's designs in our Wallpapers vault.)

That game was both exhilarating and crushing at the same time.  As Mark said in the comments, in the third, the Hornets looked like the Hornets of two years ago, forcing turnovers and getting easy buckets.  Paul got a triple double, West went for 44, 12 and 4 assists, Emeka Okafor, despite middling rebounding numbers, had a huge effect in the paint, snuffing 5 shots and changing multiple others.  The only thing keeping the rockets in the game was blistering hot perimeter shooting by Battier and Aaron Brooks.

In fact, it was Okafor fouling out on a smooth fake by Carl Landry that decided this game.  He sat down and the easy looks he was snuffing inside suddenly became easy, with two inside shots and a crushing dunk by Ariza, who had been turned away all night.

So the Hornets fall on the road again.  Wow, I’m tired of saying that.

David West

West opened the game a little lackadaisical, letting rebounds he could snag go, and saving his energy for attacking Luis Scola.  But as Scola was unable to stop him, suddenly West’s energy began picking up.  He went harder after boards,  attacked Scola when he got in the paint, and provided some decent help defense in the paint.  The only thing he didn’t do well was track Scola out to mid-range.

It was great to see that level of effort from him – at this point the fact he used to play on a similar level had started to fade.  No – not the scoring, even at his best he was rarely that crazy, but he used to give good solid effort both offensively and defensively.  I missed that, and when he was feeling his stroke so much in the third that he started taking three pointers, I was giggling with glee.

Oh – and you know how he boxes in the off-season?  Good thing he does, because Scola caught him with a mean left hook right. (Scola immediately grimaced and it was clear he didn’t mean to do it, but it was a damn good crack across the Jaw)

The Wings

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