Chris Paul scored 13 of his 25 points over the final 3:03 and added eight assists and seven rebounds as the visiting New Orleans Hornets remained undefeated with a 107-99 victory over the winless Houston Rockets on Wednesday.
Marco Belinelli scored 18 points and Emeka Okafor chipped in 15, nine rebounds and five blocks for the Hornets (4-0).
The Rockets led, 49-43, at the half and stretched it to 56-47 shortly after the break before the Hornets began to climb back. Paul and Belinelli scored four points apiece during a 13-2 run to give New Orleans its first lead of the second half.
The teams traded the lead four more times before the end of the third period, with the Hornets taking a 73-71 edge into the fourth quarter.
Houston grabbed its last lead at 89-88 on Aaron Brooks’ 3-pointer with 3:30 left, but Paul responded with a 3-pointer and jumper in the lane and Belinelli nailed a jumper to put New Orleans back on top for good.
Brooks scored 18 points before being ejected with two late technical fouls for Houston (0-4).
New Orleans | Houston | |
Chris Paul 25 | Scoring | Aaron Brooks 18 |
Chris Paul 8 | Assists | Luis Scola 5 |
Emeka Okafor 9 | Rebounds | Luis Scola 16 |
Chris Paul 10 | Free Throws Made | Kevin Martin 6 |
Chris Paul 4 | Steals | Shane Battier 1 |
Emeka Okafor 5 | Blocks | Jordan Hill 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
New Orleans | 107 | 45.6 | 5-13 | 30-42 | 20 | 45 | 11 | 9 | 8 |
Houston | 99 | 41.9 | 8-24 | 13-18 | 22 | 45 | 6 | 4 | 12 |