Hornets 93, Lakers 88
Chris Paul had 27 points, 15 assists and 13 rebounds for his second
playoff triple-double and the New Orleans Hornets evened their
first-round playoff series with the visiting Los Angeles Lakers at two
games apiece with a 93-88 victory Sunday.
The series resumes with Game 5 Tuesday in Los Angeles.
Lamar
Odom converted two free throws with 33.6 seconds remaining to get the
Lakers to 88-86, but Paul dished to Jarrett Jack for a short jumper
with 9.3 seconds remaining as the shot clock expired for a 90-86 lead. New Orleans held on from there to draw even with the second-seeded Lakers.
Kobe
Bryant shook off a scoreless first half (0 for 7) to score 14 of his 17
points in the third quarter. He also had eight assists and six
rebounds. He tweaked his left ankle with 1:32 remaining and had to come
out momentarily.
Paul also had a triple-double in
the playoffs on April 29, 2008, against Dallas.
New Orleans took
an 81-72 lead with 6:13 remaining but the Lakers closed to 83-80 on two
free throws by Derek Fisher. The Lakers missed back-to-back jumpers and
Paul made two free throws. Fisher drove for a layup but the Hornets
made a free throw for an 86-82 lead and Gasol did not handle Bryant's
pass on a driving layup.
Ron Artest scored all 16 of his points in the first half. Pau Gasol added 16 points while Andrew Bynum had 11 points and nine rebounds.
Former Laker Trevor Ariza scored 19 for the Hornets. Carl Landry scored 16 and added seven rebounds.