Kidd, acquired Tuesday from the New Jersey Nets, looked out of sorts at times, committing six turnovers.
Meanwhile, Paul’s dazzling performance on both ends of the floor had the enraptured crowd on its feet, raining down chants of “M-V-P!” for their own All-Star point guard while a banner offering a similar sentiment flapped from the upper deck.
Kidd, who had practiced only twice with his new team, finished with eight points and five assists.
While Paul dribbled surgically through Dallas’ defense, Peja Stojakovic and Bobby Jackson shot with precision from the perimeter, hitting eight of the Hornets’ 10 3-pointers as they won their fifth straight.
Stojakovic made three 3-pointers and finished with 18 points, and Jackson hit five 3s and wound up with 17 points. David West also scored 18 for New Orleans, despite playing with foul trouble in the second half.
Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 31 points. Reserve Jason Terry scored 14 points and Erick Dampier 11.
Paul, whose nine steals tied a franchise high, scored 19 points in the third quarter, when he hit all seven of his shots, including a pair of 3s, to help New Orleans surge to an 11-point lead.
New Orleans began to pull away when Stojakovic hit a jumper and Paul followed with an open 3 after Kidd got tangled up with two other players and fell.
Soon after, Paul fed Hilton Armstrong inside for a three-point play, then Paul capped a 10-2 run with a pull-up jumper with just over a second left in the third quarter to give New Orleans a 75-64 lead heading into the final period.
New Orleans widened its lead to 17 in the fourth, when Jackson made two of his 3s and Dallas began to look tired and miss shots.
Neither team led by more than six during an intense but sometimes sloppy first half during which both teams turned the ball over 11 times.
Nowitzki and West each scored 14 points during the first two periods, but both were called for three fouls.
Kidd made an immediate contribution on Dallas’ first possession, feeding Josh Howard for a basket inside. However, he sometimes looked out of sync with his new teammates, who sometimes pulled him aside after unfruitful possessions and pointed out instructions.
Some of Kidd’s problems had more to do with Paul, who set a franchise record for steals in a half with seven.
