Paul leads Hornets to surprise win over Spurs
NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - The New Orleans Hornets shrugged off the absence of three key players to surprise the San Antonio Spurs 90-86 Sunday.
Chris Paul scored 26 points, including three free throws in the final seconds, and had nine assists while team mate David West delivered 23 points and 16 rebounds.
The Hornets (45-27) ended a three-game winning streak by the Spurs (48-25), the number two team in the Western Conference. New Orleans are tied with Utah for sixth place in the conference.
"I guess this (victory) would be pretty surprising to people," Hornets coach Byron Scott told reporters.
New Orleans were playing without Tyson Chandler (ankle), Peja Stojakovic (back) and James Posey (one-game suspension).
"But that's the beauty of the NBA. On paper, we probably had no chance of winning this game. And that's how I presented it to (the players).
"I said, 'Everyone thinks we're going to lose this game and that's it not even going to be close. But if we come out and play with the intensity we can play with, we can win the game.' I thought we did that."
The Hornets' Antonio Daniels was especially impressed with Paul.
"He's a winner," Daniels said. "That play he made to get three free throws -- that's just basketball intelligence."
Tony Parker led San Antonio with 20 points and Tim Duncan added 19 points and 15 rebounds. Manu Ginobili was also in double figures with 17 points.
Hornets forward Posey was suspended for the game without pay for throwing a ball at a game official last Friday.
(Reporting by Gene Cherry in Salvo, North Carolina; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
