Hornets 88, Bobcats 81
David West had 26 points and eight rebounds to lead the New Orleans Hornets to an 88-81 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Saturday.
Chris Paul added 19 points as New Orleans (25-16) won its fourth straight contest. Trevor Ariza finished with 11 points and six steals.
Paul only had four assists for the Hornets but didn’t commit a turnover in 33-plus minutes as New Orleans made just seven turnovers as a team. Emeka Okafor added 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The Bobcats closed to within a basket at the end of the third quarter, but the Hornets' defense held them to just 14 fourth-quarter points to seal the win.
Stephen Jackson and Gerald Wallace scored 15 points apiece for Charlotte (15-23), while Kwame Brown had 12 points and 14 rebounds to help his team to a 43-34 edge on the boards.
D.J. Augustin added 12 points and seven assists for the Bobcats, who shot 40.6 percent from the field.