With starting center Emeka Okafor still sidelined, the New Orleans Hornets must be counting down the days until his return, as the Hornets were blown out of the water by the Magic on Tuesday night, 121-86.
The usual suspects did their part for the Hornets, with PF David West putting up a 14 point, 4 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl line in 25 minutes of play, while All-Star PG Chris Paul dropped 13 points, two rebounds, six assists and a steal in 24 minutes of work. However, they were the leading scorers, with F Julian Wright, G Marcus Thornton and SG Devin Brown each chipping in 10 points of their own.
The Hornets were completely overmatched in this one from the get-go, as the Magic played their four All-Star starters side-by-side (Vince Carter, Jameer Nelson, Rashard Lewis, Dwight Howard) and ran out to a 30-14 first quarter lead, along with a 67-41 halftime lead.
By the fourth quarter, the lead briefly swelled to 40 points on a three-ball by Carter, and even the Magic’s backups were getting in on the fun. PF Ryan Anderson, who came to Orlando as part of the Carter deal, poured in 16 points in 3 ½ minutes (22 points total), including four 3-pointers.
“We’ve got to get better defensively,” New Orleans coach Byron Scott said. “Communication is the key.”
Wednesday, October 14, 2009 at 10:19 pm by bryan
The New Orleans Hornets hope their slow preseason start has no effect on their regular season aspirations, as the Hornets fell to the Charlotte Bobcats 108-101 on Thursday night.
The game between the Hornets and Bobcats had special meaning – especially for a preseason game – for two reasons. First, Hornets All-Star PG Chris Paul celebrated his homecoming, as he grew up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and went to college at Wake Forest. Paul scored 15 of his 24 points in the third quarter, as he desperately tried to battle his team back into the game; heplayed 24 minutes overall.
Second, Charlotte and New Orleans swapped centers in the offseason, with the Bobcats sending Emeka Okafor to the Hornets in return for Tyson Chandler, who Paul developed a strong rapport with. Okafor, who was the Hornets’ first NBA draft pick in the franchise’s history, sat out of the game with a sprained right toe, and Chandler remained sidelined by the left ankle surgery that put him down at the end of last season.
The Hornets came back into the game in the third quarter with Paul’s rally, taking their first lead of the preseason on rookie Marcus Thornton’s 3-pointer with 9:44 left that made the score 82-81. Thornton knotted the game at 96 with another three with 4:08 remaining in the game; he is pushing Morris Peterson for time at shooting guard.
PF David West scored 14 points for the Hornets, while rookie Darren Collison, who is battling for the backup point guard position behind Paul, finished with 12 points.
“I like the fact that the young guys kept their poise,” Hornets coach Byron Scott said. “We’re still making a lot of mistakes on both ends of the floor, and both of those guys are a little part of it … but overall, it wasn’t bad.”
Saturday, October 10, 2009 at 1:05 am by bryan
