David West had 17 points and eight rebounds and Chris Paul added 15 points as the host New Orleans Hornets held off the Philadelphia 76ers, 84-77, on Monday.
Emeka Okafor added 13 points and eight boards and former 76er Willie Green scored 11 points off the bench for the Hornets, who have won three straight games, holding opponent to 81 points or less.
New Orleans closed the first half with a 12-0 run for a 43-40 lead and opened it to double digits in the third quarter, pulling ahead, 68-58, on former Sixer Jason Smith’s jumper to close the frame.
The lead grew to as much as 77-64 with 6:35 left before the 76ers made their run, holding the Hornets without a basket for nearly four minutes while closing the gap to 78-75.
West finally snapped the drought with a jumper at the 2:44 mark, and neither team scored over the next two minutes. Sixers rookie Evan Turner's free throws made it a one-possession game with 39 seconds left, but Paul responded with a driving layup.
Elton Brand had 14 points and 10 rebounds and Jrue Holiday collected 12, six and six assists for the 76ers, who went 3-5 on their eight-game road trip.
Philadelphia | New Orleans | |
Elton Brand 14 | Scoring | David West 17 |
Jrue Holiday 6 | Assists | Chris Paul 5 |
Elton Brand 10 | Rebounds | Emeka Okafor 8 |
Thaddeus Young 4 | Free Throws Made | Chris Paul 6 |
Jrue Holiday 1 | Steals | Chris Paul 2 |
Jason Kapono 1 | Blocks | Emeka Okafor 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Philadelphia | 77 | 34.1 | 5-23 | 12-14 | 13 | 44 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
New Orleans | 84 | 44.9 | 4-14 | 18-22 | 22 | 41 | 9 | 3 | 12 |