Hornets 108, Pacers 96
Trevor Ariza had 19 points and nine rebounds and Chris Paul delivered 18 points and eight assists as the New Orleans Hornets cruised past the visiting Indiana Pacers 108-96 on Sunday.
Carl Landry also scored 18 points and Emeka Okafor had 14 points and a season-high 17 rebounds for New Orleans (44-33), which moved into a tie for seventh place in the Western Conference with the idle Memphis Grizzlies.
Danny Granger and Mike Dunleavy scored 15 points apiece as Indiana (35-43) had its three-game winning streak snapped.
The Hornets led by 13 points at halftime and began the third quarter with a 13-2 run to take a 70-46 lead on Paul’s 7-footer with 7:46 left in the third quarter. New Orleans’ lead topped out at 25.
A.J. Price added 12 points for Indiana, which stayed two games ahead of Charlotte for eighth in the Eastern Conference.
New Orleans never trailed after taking a 6-4 lead on Ariza’s basket three minutes into the game. The Hornets led by as many as 16 in the first half.