Spurs 109, Hornets 95
The San Antonio Spurs made their first nine shots of the fourth quarter to rally from an early bombardment by David West en route to a 109-95 victory over the host New Orleans Hornets on Sunday afternoon.
Manu Ginobili had 23 points and eight assists and Tim Duncan added 21 points for the Spurs, who had their 12-game win streak snapped Friday against Dallas and handed New Orleans its first home loss of the season.
The Hornets shot 60.9 percent (25-of-41) in the first 24 minutes to take a 61-44 lead, as West scored 16 of his 23 points in the first quarter on a variety of jumpers, drives and tips.
San Antonio cut the deficit to 77-72 heading into the fourth before torching the league's No. 1 defense, which entered allowing 91.1 points per game.
Richard Jefferson opened the fourth with a jumper and Gary Neal followed with a 3-pointer. A jumper by Antonio McDyess proceeded consecutive 3-pointers by Jefferson and Ginoboli that provided an 85-79 lead with 9:26 left
The Spurs pushed the edge to 10 when George Hill drained the ninth straight shot of the quarter and completed a three-point play, and San Antonio continued to pull away.
San Antonio (14-2), the league's No. 2 scoring offense at 108 points per game, shot 60.5 percent (23-of-38) in the second half, while New Orleans shot 35.4 percent (11-of-31) and committed eight of its 11 turnovers.
Chris Paul had 15 points and seven assists as New Orleans dropped its third of four after starting 11-1.