casper
12-31-2009, 10:51 AM
WEST HELPS HORNETS HOLD ON TO BEAT HEAT
THE SPORTS NETWORK
New Orleans, LA (Sports Network) - David West scored six points in the final minute of regulation to help the Hornets withstand a Miami rally for a 95-91 victory at New Orleans Arena.
West, coming off a career-high 44-point effort in a loss to Houston on Tuesday, ended with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Emeka Okafor added 15 and 14 and had a huge block of Udonis Haslem in the closing seconds for New Orleans, which had lost three of four coming in.
Chris Paul dished out nine assists to go with 18 points in the win.
Dwyane Wade notched 22 points to lead six Miami players in double figures. Quentin Richardson chipped in 14 points, while Jermaine O'Neal had 12 points and nine rebounds in the loss, the club's first in four games.
"It was a tough game; tough finish," said Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra. "We showed some resolve to be able to dig back into the game. But it's tough winning on the road."
Haslem, who had 10 points, capped a 10-0 run with a basket at the 8:35 mark of the fourth, cutting Miami's deficit to 77-72. It stayed close, and Wade's two free throws pulled Miami within 83-82 with 3:05 remaining.
After trading baskets and free throws, Devin Brown turned the ball over and Richardson tipped in a Wade miss to give the Heat the lead, 88-87.
West answered with a jumper from the left wing and added two free throws with 40.2 seconds remaining after Daequan Cook missed a three-pointer.
Haslem was denied by Okafor, and West nailed two more free throws with 14.3 ticks left. Richardson's three-pointer 6.2 seconds later gave Miami a chance, but Brown made two free throws to all but seal the New Orleans win.
"That was a quality team we played against tonight and a team we had a tremendous amount of respect for how they were playing coming into this game and after a hard game last night I am really proud of the way we competed and the way we played tonight's game," said Hornets head coach Jeff Bower.
Miami didn't hit a field goal over the final six minutes of the opening quarter, as the Hornets scored eight of the final nine points to take a 25-19 advantage.
New Orleans' lead was 48-40 at halftime, and Paul's buzzer-beating jumper pushed the margin to 73-59 with a quarter to play.
Game Notes
New Orleans improved to 12-3 as the host...Miami has lost its last five trips to New Orleans...Michael Beasley and Carlos Arroyo each scored 11 points for the Heat...Brown logged 16 points for the Hornets, who received 11 points off the bench from Darius Songaila.
THE SPORTS NETWORK
New Orleans, LA (Sports Network) - David West scored six points in the final minute of regulation to help the Hornets withstand a Miami rally for a 95-91 victory at New Orleans Arena.
West, coming off a career-high 44-point effort in a loss to Houston on Tuesday, ended with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Emeka Okafor added 15 and 14 and had a huge block of Udonis Haslem in the closing seconds for New Orleans, which had lost three of four coming in.
Chris Paul dished out nine assists to go with 18 points in the win.
Dwyane Wade notched 22 points to lead six Miami players in double figures. Quentin Richardson chipped in 14 points, while Jermaine O'Neal had 12 points and nine rebounds in the loss, the club's first in four games.
"It was a tough game; tough finish," said Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra. "We showed some resolve to be able to dig back into the game. But it's tough winning on the road."
Haslem, who had 10 points, capped a 10-0 run with a basket at the 8:35 mark of the fourth, cutting Miami's deficit to 77-72. It stayed close, and Wade's two free throws pulled Miami within 83-82 with 3:05 remaining.
After trading baskets and free throws, Devin Brown turned the ball over and Richardson tipped in a Wade miss to give the Heat the lead, 88-87.
West answered with a jumper from the left wing and added two free throws with 40.2 seconds remaining after Daequan Cook missed a three-pointer.
Haslem was denied by Okafor, and West nailed two more free throws with 14.3 ticks left. Richardson's three-pointer 6.2 seconds later gave Miami a chance, but Brown made two free throws to all but seal the New Orleans win.
"That was a quality team we played against tonight and a team we had a tremendous amount of respect for how they were playing coming into this game and after a hard game last night I am really proud of the way we competed and the way we played tonight's game," said Hornets head coach Jeff Bower.
Miami didn't hit a field goal over the final six minutes of the opening quarter, as the Hornets scored eight of the final nine points to take a 25-19 advantage.
New Orleans' lead was 48-40 at halftime, and Paul's buzzer-beating jumper pushed the margin to 73-59 with a quarter to play.
Game Notes
New Orleans improved to 12-3 as the host...Miami has lost its last five trips to New Orleans...Michael Beasley and Carlos Arroyo each scored 11 points for the Heat...Brown logged 16 points for the Hornets, who received 11 points off the bench from Darius Songaila.