New Orldeans 104, Sacramento 90
NEW ORLEANS, Oct. 31 (AP) -- Chris Paul and the rest of the Hornets' starting five got their team's full-time return to New Orleans off to a promising start.
Paul had 22 points and 12 assists, while Peja Stojakovic showed some of his All-Star form of old with 19 points to help the Hornets beat the Sacramento Kings 104-90 on Wednesday night.
Tyson Chandler, fresh of a stint playing for the U.S. national team, had 15 points and 13 rebounds for New Orleans, while David West showed no signs of a recent ankle sprain in scoring 17.
Newly acquired shooting guard Morris Peterson chipped in with 13, including three 3-pointers.
Stojakovic missed all but 13 games last season because of back surgery. New Orleans will need him to stay healthy this season, and he looked fine against his former team, playing 31 minutes and hitting four 3-pointers.
Defensively, Sacramento missed Ron Artest, who is serving a seven-game suspension after pleading no contest to a charge related to domestic violence. With Mike Bibby out at least eight weeks after surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left thumb, the Kings' offensive firepower was diminished as well.
Kevin Martin led the Kings with 26 points, while John Salmons scored 22, Francisco Garcia 17 and Brad Miller 12.
The Hornets took a double-digit lead in the first half and maintained it for most of the game.
NBA commissioner David Stern was in New Orleans to announce a season-long, league-wide community service initiative in New Orleans that will include a day of service by players, coaches, team employees and their families two days before the NBA All-Star game here on Feb. 17.
He also attended the game, the first of 41 regular-season contests the Hornets will play here in their first full season in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina struck on Aug. 29, 2005. The team spent most of the past two seasons in Oklahoma City, playing only nine regular-season games in the Big Easy during that time.
"Thank you, New Orleans, for having us back,'' Stern said to the crowd in brief comments shortly before tipoff, with Hornets majority owner George Shinn standing nearby. "Thank you to George Shinn and to the Hornets, who are committed to being part of the rebuilding of New Orleans. The NBA is committed to this in a way we think is going to have a significant contribution to the rebuilding effort.''
Then Stern handed the microphone to Shinn, whose decision to leave behind big crowds in Oklahoma City and return to New Orleans has been questioned by a number of pro basketball observers.
"I'm tired of people criticizing us and pulling us down,'' Shinn said. "We believe in New Orleans.''
Stern's and Shinn's comments drew the first rousing applause of the night, but certainly not the last. The Hornets took care of that with a hustling, all-court effort and excellent shooting.
The Hornets shot 59 percent in the first half.
Chandler and West each scored 13 points and Stojakovic hit two of the Hornets' five 3-pointers as New Orleans took a 57-42 halftime lead.
Notes: Kings G Quincy Douby left the game after running blindly into Chandler's screen while trying to chase Paul out of the backcourt. Douby went down holding his head and team officials said he had a mild concussion. ... Actors Anthony Anderson and Cole Hauser, stars of the New Orleans-based police drama "K-Ville,'' sat a couple of rows behind the Hornets' bench. They also got a chance to sit in on the Hornets' radio broadcast in the fourth quarter, both yelling unintelligibly into their microphones during a Hornets fast break while longtime Hornets play-by-play announcer Bob Licht shook his head and laughed. ... Attendance was announced at 15,188.
source : NBA.com
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