Hornets Stymie Spurs

According to records, the Spurs are the best the NBA has to offer. Saturday night in New Orleans, the Hornets gave the Spurs the best they had to offer. The result, a dominant performance for the hottest team in the league as the Hornets thump San Antonio 96-72. New Orleans has now won 8 in a row for the second time this season. Here is more from the AP and espn.com

David West had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and the New Orleans Hornets earned their eighth consecutive victory and ended the San Antonio Spurs' eight-game winning streak, 96-72 on Saturday night.One night after winning by 41 at Atlanta, the Hornets led by as many as 31 against a Spurs team that has the NBA's best record (37-7), but which has also lost twice to New Orleans (29-16).

Marcus Thornton and Trevor Ariza each hit all four 3-pointers they took as the Hornets set a season high with 12 3s. Thornton finished with 18 points and Ariza 15, while Emeka Okafor had 12 rebounds and five blocks.

Tony Parker's 10 points made him the only double-digit scorer among the Spurs starters, who spent much of the second half on the bench.

The Hornets have their second eight-game winning streak of the season, marking the first time in franchise history they've had two streaks that long in one season.

It is also the NBA's longest active streak. The Spurs entered the game with that distinction, but lost it after scoring their lowest point total of the season en route to their worst loss of the season.

San Antonio, which shot 36.2 percent (25 of 69) against New Orleans, had not been held below 85 points previously this season and had not lost by more than 22.

After a closely contested first half, the Hornets blew the game open by outscoring the Spurs 31-10 in the third quarter. San Antonio's point total for the period was the lowest of any Hornets opponent in any quarter this season.

Before tonight, the most impressive win of the season for NOLA came in December against the Jazz. This victory blows that one out of the water. San Antonio sports the best record of the league, and averages 105 points a contest. Saturday night at the Hive, the NBA's top ranked defense held them a season low 72 points. To say it was impressive would be an understatement. The Spurs have only lost 7 games this year, with two of those being to the Hornets. Next up, the Oklahoma City Thunder. Tip-off on Monday is set for 7:00 at the Hive.