Hornets sting Spurs

David West scored a career playoff-high 30 points to lead the New Orleans Hornets to a 101-82 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series Saturday night in New Orleans.

Chris Paul added 17 points, 13 assists and four steals for New Orleans, which trailed by as much as 11 in the first half but stormed into the lead for good in the third quarter.

Tim Duncan had a rare terrible night, going 1 of 9 from the field for a career playoff-low five points and only three rebounds.

The Hornets swarmed Duncan with double teams throughout the game, forcing San Antonio to look for points from outside.

The Spurs hit 12 3-pointers in the game, but also missed 19.

The Hornets dominated the inside, outrebounding San Antonio 50-34 and outscoring the Spurs 46-26 in the paint. The Hornets also shot 50 percent from the field, while the Spurs finished at 40.8 percent.

Tyson Chandler had 10 points, 15 rebounds and three blocked shots for New Orleans. Peja Stojakovic added 22 points for the Hornets on 9-of-15 shooting, and reserve Bonzi Wells added 10 points, all but two in the fourth quarter.

Tony Parker led the Spurs with 23 points and Manu Ginobili had 19. Bruce Bowen added 17 points and Michael Finley 13, but San Antonio needed more help inside from Duncan and Kurt Thomas, who had only two points and two rebounds.

After trailing most of the first half, the Hornets surged into the lead for good with a 13-0 run in the third quarter that opened with Chandler’s driving layup and ended with Stojakovic’s second 3-pointer of the game.

That gave the Hornets a 61-54 lead, which they built to 74-66 heading into the fourth quarter.

Jacque Vaughn’s driving layup got the Spurs as close as 76-71 early in the period, but the Hornets, despite being in the playoffs for the first time in four years, were not rattled and pushed the lead back up to double digits before turning it into a blowout during the last 5 minutes, with Paul scoring seemingly at will.

The Hornets scored the first eight points of the game, with Stojakovic and Mo Peterson each hitting 3s, and San Antonio didn’t have a point until Parker’s free throws with 7:36 left in the first quarter.

Pistons 91, Magic 72: At Auburn Hills, Mich., Chauncey Billups had 19 points, seven assists and played a key role in a decisive third-quarter run, leading Detroit to a win over Orlando in Game 1 of the second-round series.

Dwight Howard had a relatively quiet night with 12 points, eight rebounds and three blocks after being the first player to score 20 points and grab 20 rebounds in three playoff games since Wilt Chamberlain did it in 1972.

Howard played for much of the second half with blue tape wrapped around his left hand to protect his thumb he injured after trying to grab a rebound.

After the Magic took their last lead with 10:08 left in the third quarter, Billups’ layup capped an 8-0 run as Detroit started a 21-3 burst to take a 64-49 lead.

Orlando rallied to trail by just seven points entering the fourth despite making only 1 of 10 3-pointers and just 7 of 16 free throws.

Jason Maxiell squashed any comeback hopes the Magic had.

Detroit’s power forward, starting again for Antonio McDyess, scored 10 of his 12 points in the fourth quarter with surprising touch on jumpers and free throws.