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So, the Hornets get their second double-digit win of the season, against the Clippers, who they got their other double-digit win of the season against.  I don't much care who it was against.  It was just nice to not be on edge during the fourth quarter for once. 

The ball movement in the third was excellent.  A lot of that had to do with the Clippers defense being somewhat slow, but it's still great to see three or four passes lead to a layup, and it happened a good half-dozen times.

Marcus Thornton

Marcus Thornton was fantastic tonight.  When he crashes the offensive glass, he looks like he's on spring, and he's got an amazingly quick release.  He ended with 11 points, 5 rebounds(3 offensive), 2 assists, and no fouls.

He impresses me no end, because he's clearly one of the smaller guards out there.  He might be listed at 6'4", but he doesn't look much bigger than Paul on the floor, and next to Eric Gordon, who is listed at 6'3", he looked like he was giving up both height and about 30 lbs.  Didn't matter though.  He played him - and Baron Davis - with energy and didn't back down.

Defense & Rebounding

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Baron Davis and the Clippers (17-19) in town tonight to take on the Hornets (19-17). Game tipping at 7 Central.

This will be the third of four meetings between these teams this season. The Hornets won the previous two battles, with that 112-84 result in L.A. on November 9th still standing as their lone blowout victory of the season.

The Clippers come to New Orleans a little shook up. They were riding a 4-game win streak before they played the Grizzlies in Memphis last night, a game which saw the whole building evacuated briefly during the third quarter on account of a broken water pipe. The Clips were up 13 before that break, but ended up losing 102-104., dropping their road record to 5-11. Chris Kaman did not play against the Grizz after hurting his back in warm-ups, while Marcus Camby left after the first quarter due to a stomach virus. No word on whether those two will be available to play tonight, and Blake Griffin won't be playing anytime soon.

The Hornets will be looking to slow Clipper guards Baron Davis and Eric Gordon. Davis put up 27 points, 12 boards and 12 assists last night in Memphis, while Gordon is averaging 17 points on 54 percent shooting the past five games. Note that Gordon missed the previous two meetings with the Hornets this season.

Some numbers:

Pace: Clippers 91.8 (21st), Hornets 91.9 (20th)
Offensive Efficiency: Clippers 102.4 (22nd), Hornets 103.6 (18th)
Defensive Efficiency: Clippers 103.2 (13th), Hornets 105.7 (20th)

Hornets coming off that loss in Philly on Monday, which snapped their six-game win streak. They've won their last six at New Orleans Arena.

I'll be chatting with the TrueHoop crew over at ESPN's Daily Dime Live during the game. Drop by with questions or comments.

Linkage:

• Lagniappe: Better with Bower, Grandmama flashback, and CP feeling at home in N.O.
  
• Rival bloggers: ClipperBlog.com | Clips Nation

(Many thanks to Dariusz for today's banner featuring Jerome Moiso, who played 66 games with the Hornets from 2001-2003. Be sure to check out more of Dariusz's designs in our Wallpapers vault.)

Hey folks, I'll be filling in for Ryan and Niall from time to time, and tonight is one of those times.  Given my handle, I'd make a joke about Medieval Times, but there's probably plenty of time for that later.  Anyway, the important thing is the basketball, and that is what we're all here for.

The Hornets got back on the winning track tonight, beating the visiting Clippers 110-102 at the Hive.  I can't feign surprise at this, even given all the Hornets' issues, seeing as how Los Angeles is terrible.  Of course, that also makes trying to gain any real insight from this game a difficult task, but I will give it my best shot anyway.

The first point of order:  Why is Devin Brown playing?  More importantly, why is he starting?  It may seem ridiculous to bag on the guy when he drops 16 points on the stat sheet, but look at the shooting percentage (40 percent) and turnovers (three).  How can playing Marcus Thornton (40 percent shooting and ZERO turnovers) more be any worse of an option?  I really think its time Thornton started getting 30 minutes a game instead of 20.  After all, we all want to see how good he can be.  I'm pretty sure we know about Brown at this point.

And I know someone will try to tell me Brown should be out there for veteran leadership.  Or something like that anyway.  So what is he doing letting himself get taken out on a basic ball screen at the end of the half for an easy three?  That made the score 58-53 instead of 58-50 at the break.  Not an unforgiveable sin, but not exactly a very heady play either.  Also, no two-for-one at the end of the third quarter?  Sean Marks canned a long one to make that decision less of a painful one, but he had enough to time to create a decent shot and give his team an extra possession ... and yet he didn't do it.

Brown nailed an early three, one minute in, and I had high hopes.  Of course he then followed it up by bouncing one off his leg.  He was bailed out in the lane several times thanks to poor Clippers defense, but you just aren't going to see that every night.  "Poor Clippers defense" was a pretty consistent theme the whole night, and it had as much to do with the final result as anything.

Contrast his play with that of Darren Collison, and it looks all the more jarring.

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Hornets looking to end their three-game slide tonight when they host the Los Angeles Clippers. Game tips at 7 Central.

These two teams met just last week in L.A., with the Hornets riding some hot shooting to a blowout victory. Since then, the Clippers have fallen to the visiting Thunder and Raptors, before winning in OKC on Sunday. They come to New Orleans with a 4-7 record.

The Clips are still without Eric Gordon (strained undercarriage) and Blake Griffin (bum knee). Chris Kaman continues to put up big numbers, Baron Davis is always a threat and Al Thornton dropped 20 in Oklahoma City last game.

For the Hornets, Chris Paul is out indefinitely as the Hornets refuse to give straight answers about his ankle injury. Darren Collison will start again at point tonight. NOLA.com reports that Hilton Armstrong will also be unavailable due to a shoulder sprain (read: Kiwi time).

I'll be chatting it up again over at ESPN's Daily Dime Live during the game. Drop on by, bring a friend.

Linkage:

• Earlier on the blog: Breaking Down the Rookies and some Random Thoughts
  
• Journals: Consequences of a Short Term CP3 Injury
  
• Lagniappe: Mardi Gras jersey design leaked, and some other stuff
  
• Rival bloggers: ClipperBlog.com | Clips Nation

(Many thanks to Dariusz for the banner.)

Just what the doctor ordered.

The Hornets finally looked like a professional basketball team tonight, as they took apart the Clippers at the Staples Center. Our guys had it clicking on both sides of the ball, as evidenced by the 112-84 final score ( box | recap ).

Skipping the bullets and doing this recap ClipperBlog style...

Three-point barrage

After being burned repeatedly by the three ball in recent games, tonight it was the Hornets making it rain from downtown. Devin Brown and Peja Stojakovic got nice open looks in the first quarter and kept knocking them down. The Hornets would finish the quarter shooting 7-of-9 from deep, and all those buckets seemed to give everyone a little more energy on the defensive end.

Devin Brown

Where to begin? This guy was thrust into the starting lineup yesterday against the Lakers and instantly proved to be an offensive upgrade over Morris Peterson. Tonight against the Clippers, Devin took it to a whole new level. He was everywhere in this one: knocking down threes, playing great help defense, coming up with steals, running and finishing the break. I can only assume he stole some of Kobe's talent yesterday, Space Jam style.

Devin's final line: 30 minutes, 25 points, 8-14 FGs, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals.

History proves that DB can't be counted on to play like this night in and night out, and so he's obviously not the long-term answer at shooting guard. But savor his performance tonight for what it was: outstanding.

The rookies

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