With razzle-dazzle dribbles and a driving floater that couldn’t miss, Paul had 30 points and 12 assists to lead the New Orleans Hornets to a 102-84 victory Monday night and a 2-0 lead over the Spurs in their second-round NBA playoff series.
Peja Stojakovic hit five 3-pointers and scored 25 points for the Hornets, who’ve won both games by wide margins in becoming the first team to put San Antonio in an 0-2 playoff hole since 2001 - when the Spurs were swept by the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals.
Game 3 is Thursday in San Antonio.
After allowing West to score a playoff career-high 30 points in the series opener, the Spurs held the All-Star power forward to 10 points on 2-of-11 shooting. But West remained active under the basket with 10 rebounds.
Tyson Chandler had 11 rebounds and all of his five points during a key stretch midway through the fourth quarter when the Hornets prevented San Antonio from getting within single digits.
Tim Duncan led San Antonio with 18 points and eight rebounds. It was far better than his miserable Game 1, in which he tied a career playoff low with five points and three rebounds.
But by the final minutes, Duncan was on the bench, resting his cheek on his hand with a dejected stare.
Manu Ginobili had 13 points for the Spurs and Tony Parker 11. Brent Barry added 14 points, some of them when the game was out of reach in the fourth quarter.
The Hornets shot a blistering 59 percent (10 of 17) from beyond arc, compared to an 8-for-27 (30 percent) effort from the Spurs.
San Antonio also turned the ball over 15 times, six of them on steals by New Orleans.
