Where: New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana
Officials: #26 Bob Delaney, #38 Michael Smith, # James Williams
Attendance: 13758
Chris Paul had 26 points and nine assists to lead the New Orleans Hornets past the visiting Phoenix Suns, 100-95, on Wednesday.
Paul connected on 9 of 16 shots and has scored 86 points over the last three games for New Orleans (40-30). Emeka Okafor had 16 points and 11 rebounds while David West notched 16 points and nine rebounds.
Jared Dudley scored 25 points and Vince Carter tallied 21 for Phoenix (33-33), which lost its fourth consecutive contest. Grant Hill added 15 points.
Steve Nash was back in the lineup for the Suns and had eight points and 10 assists in 34-plus minutes. He missed the previous two games with a pelvic injury.
New Orleans used a 9-0 run early in the second quarter to take a 42-32 lead. The lead grew to 19 in the third quarter after Paul’s basket capped an 11-0 run that gave the Hornets a 71-52 lead with 6:56 left in the period.
The Suns got within 95-91 with 21.4 seconds left on Dudley’s fifth 3-pointer of the game but New Orleans held off the charge.
| Phoenix | New Orleans | |
| Jared Dudley 25 | Scoring | Chris Paul 26 |
| Steve Nash 10 | Assists | Chris Paul 9 |
| Jared Dudley 8 | Rebounds | Emeka Okafor 11 |
| Jared Dudley 4 | Free Throws Made | Chris Paul 6 |
| Vince Carter 2 | Steals | Chris Paul 3 |
| Robin Lopez 2 | Blocks | Trevor Ariza 1 |
| Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
| Phoenix | 95 | 43.2 | 14-34 | 11-13 | 24 | 36 | 4 | 5 | 17 |
| New Orleans | 100 | 47.5 | 6-17 | 18-23 | 22 | 43 | 6 | 5 | 15 |
- New Orleans will play their next game at home against Boston. The Hornets have a W/L % of .641 after a win and .484 after a loss.
- Phoenix will play their next game at home against Golden State. The Suns have a W/L % of .485 after a win and .515 after a loss.