Hornets Beat Clippers

A sellout crowd packed the Hive Wednesday night to watch the Hornets defeat the Clippers 98-87. Chris Paul had a double-double to help power New Orleans over Los Angeles. David West outscored Blake Griffin in a matchup of star power forwards. Here is more from the AP and espn.com.

David West scored 22 for the Hornets, who were able to overcome Blake Griffin and control the inside, even with center Emeka Okafor missing his 10th straight game with a strained left hip.

Willie Green scored 17 points and his backup, Marco Belinelli, added 12 for New Orleans, which shot 51.3 percent (40 of 78) in winning for only the third time in 12 games.

Griffin had 21 points and 13 rebounds, but the Clippers were sloppy in dropping their second straight. Los Angeles turned the ball over 23 times, leading to 25 Hornets points.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=310223003

New Orleans looked to have fresh legs, particularly David West. The few days of rest for the all-star game seemed to have a positive impact on the home team Wedesday night. Emeka Okafor missed his tenth straight game, after originally being scheduled to return on Wednesday. It is unclear at this time whether or not he will play Friday in Minneapolis. Newly acquired PF Carl Landry will join the team tomorrow, and most likely be in the lineup against the Timberwolves tomorrow night.