The Hornets worked the Atlanta Hawks over from long range and used three-pointers and an improving bench for a 116-101 victory before only 12.430 on Wednesday night at the Arena.
The Hawks passed over Hornets point guard Chris Paul in the draft and the former WakeForest star is now 4-0 against Atlanta as the Bees ran circles around the Hawks all night, piling up 35 assists to Atlanta's 18. Paul hit 25 points with 18 assists for the night.
Paul had 15 points and 10 assists without a turnover by halftime. The Hornets hit more than a dozen uncontested three-pointers as Jannero Pargo scored 22 points off the bench and played with Paul during several stretches of the game.
Peja Stojakovic was another beneficiary of Paul's masterful performance, scoring 29 points on 10-of-19 shooting. He was a big reason why the Hornets tied a franchise record for three-pointer made in a game, sinking 7 of his 111 attempts from long range.
While Paul controlled the flow of the game, center Tyson Chandler scored 14 points to go with his 16 rebounds and 2 blocks.
Hornets No. 1 draft choice Julian Wright played 22 minutes and hit 13 points with 7 rebounds.
Hawks guards Joe Johnson and Mike Bibby combined for 45 points on 19-of-34 shooting.
"I thought Julian and JP did a good job coming off the bench and giving us a punch," said Hornets coach Byron Scott.
Forward David West (ankle) and swingman Bonzi Wells (Achilles) didn't play because of injuries. Newly signed forward-center Chris Andersen watched the action from the bench. Wells has played only eight minutes in the Hornets' last five games.
The Hornets (41-19) host the New Jersey Nets (26-35), Scott's former team, on Friday night. The Hornets trail South Division leading San Antonio by a game and a half.
