New Orleans Hornets roll over the Indiana Pacers with a 108-96 victory
Both the New Orleans Hornets and the Indiana Pacers came into Sunday night’s game, lurking at the eight spots of their respective conferences and placed tentatively for the play-off race. On the night though, it was the Hornets
who triumphed and are now one win away clinching the playoff berth. Led by Chris Paul and Emeka Okafor, the Hornets thrashed the Indiana Pacers with a comprehensive 108-96 victory.
The Hornets were struck with sheer apprehension for a moment after seeing their star guard Chris Paul crumbling on the floor in the second quarter due to knee injury. However, he turned out to be fine and returned late in the second
half to join the action.
"I'm good. Scared me, too. I knocked knees, but I'm all right." Paul said after the game.
It was the same knee that was mended surgically last season and as a result he missed 24 games. Paul finished the night with 18 points and dished out eight assists.
Emeka Okafor was incredibly instrumental on the court. He landed 14 points and gathered 17 rebounds to put Hornets on the frontline. Trevor Ariza and Carl Landry combined for 37 points as the home team utterly dominated the first
three quarters of the game.
Indiana Pacers starting five failed to provide a significant support but two players from the bench carried the momentum outstandingly. Mike Dunleavy and A.J. Price together landed 27 points and handed out seven assists to propel
the Pacers somewhat. However, Paul George had a totally off night which decelerated the pace of Indiana. He only scored 3 points in more than 23 minutes of the play and was equally feeble on the rebounds and assists.
The home team took the charge right from the beginning leaving few options for the visiting Pacers to gain any sort of momentum. New Orleans’ starters infused the energy stoutly, with Okafor leading the domination with his eight
points in the first quarter. Paul surged with successive blows in the last minute of the period and the Hornets grabbed 29-21 advantage.
An absolute display of team work was shown by the home team as all of their starters scored in double figure except Marco Belinelli, who was one only point short. The team effort continued in the second quarter as well and Hornets
managed to amplify the lead 55-47 into the halftime despite two blistering 3-pointers from Indiana.
Hornets showed no signs of retreat and romped with 13-2 run in the starting five minutes of the second half and completely thrashed the Pacers out of the game. The visiting team only dominated on one thing throughout the night;
shooting from beyond the arc.
The Pacers continued to attack the rim from long range but the New Orleans ensured that they provide fewer chances to the opposition to reach the basket. Hornets availed a number of free throws in the last two minutes of the third
period and Aaron Gray’s sizzling layup shot took the lead to 89-65.
The final quarter was more of a formality for the Hornets as they were already ahead by 24 points. The Pacers showed some fight though and buried four scorching blows from downtown and restricted Hornets to only 19 points in the
fourth period. However, the extensive lead constructed by the home team still provided a comprehensive 108-96 victory and Indiana entirely failed to haunt New Orleans during the night.
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