Chris Paul scored a triple double as the Hornets outscored the Golden State Warriors 108-96 on Sunday at the Hive before another sellout crowd of 17,809 and a national television (ABC) audience.
It was the fourth career triple double for MVP candidate Paul, who had 16 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds. The Bees tied a franchise record for single-season victories with 54 and the Hornets need one more victory to break the franchise record for a single season wins, set in 1996-97.
The streaking Hornets got help from their bench, which outscored the Warriors' reserves 26-5.
Peja Stojakovic and David West had 25 points each, helping the Hornets win their 11th straight home game and fourth straight over-all. Monta Ellis scored 35 points for the Warriors, which entered the day tied for the eight seed in the West with Denver, which played Sunday night at Seattle.
Tyson Chandler scored 11 points and had 12 rebounds for the Hornets, which remain atop the West with six games left. They play Utah here on Tuesday night.
Hornets backup point guard Jannero Pargo ended up with 15 points in the second quarter in relief of Paul, who had an underthrown alley-opp lob go straight in the hoop.
Coach Byron Scott has already achieved a personal mark for most wins i in a season as a coach. He also has helped the Bees set a set a record for road wins with 25 this season.
The Hornets are one of the top teams in the NBA for getting the most bang for their bucks. It cost the team $1.11 million for each win. Owner George Shinn has made big investments over the past two years and they have paid off: David West ($10.7 million) has turned into an All-Star while Peja Stojakovic ($11.7 million( has recovered from back surgery to join Tyson Chandler ($10.3 million) as key contributors to the West front-runners. The short-term beauty of the payroll is the $3.6 million rookie contract salary of Chris Paul. His command of a maximun salary within two years could force the Bees to unload one of their big contracts. No team is realizing more production from its payroll ($53.1 million) than he Hornets.
Off the typewriter...
Saints running back Deuce McAllister was married to actress Danielle Tipton on Saturday at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Lakeview. Saints defensive end Charles Grant was one of the best men and fullback Mike Karney was one of he groomsmen. Atendees in the SRO crowd included the Tom Bensons and the Sean Paytons...When the Knicks were with us the other night, Hornets owner Shinn had some advice for the floundering NBA team. Said Shinn: "They can look at us and look at what we've done. You get the right people, bond them together, it's amazing what can happen."
The Saints improved their cornerback position with the signing of veteran Aaron Glenn, 36, a three-time Pro Bowler from the Jaguars. Glenn has intercepted at least one pass in each of the last 13 seasons and is tied with Ty Law for the league's longest streak among active players. He has 41 interceptions in his career, six of which he returned for touchdowns. Glenn, 5-foot-9, 183, is not expected to compete for a starting job, but will be heavily in the mix for duty in the nickel cornerback position. Glenn said one reason he signed with the Saints is because he believe they have a chance to win the conference and advance to the Super Bowl.
