Hornets 95, Trail Blazers 91
Carl Landry collected 21 points and six rebounds and Emeka Okafor added 15 and 10 as the New Orleans Hornets moved into a tie for sixth place in the Western Conference with a 95-91 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday.
Chris Paul shook off a 4-of-15 shooting night to finish with 11 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds for the Hornets (43-32), who pulled even with the Blazers (43-32), a game ahead of eighth-place Memphis (42-33).
Portland held the lead, 73-72, after Andre Miller’s jumper early in the fourth quarter. But New Orleans quickly established control, taking off on a 12-2 spurt over the next five minutes behind eight points from Willie Green.
The Blazers made it interesting in the final minutes, pulling to within 91-88 after Miller split a pair of free throws with 40 seconds left. Portland had the ball with a chance to tie but Landry stole it from Miller and hit two free throws to put it out of reach.
LaMarcus Aldridge recorded 24 points and 15 rebounds and Miller finished with 19 points for the Blazers.