Game 2 Recap
It didn’t take a whole half for Chris Paul to get into this game. Instead of having to come back in the second half, Paul spent the first half picking apart the Mavericks defense—and they actually did try to play defense—while scoring 32 points and dishing out 17 assists for his second consecutive 30 and 10 night in as many playoff games.

The Hornets picked up where they left off from the second half of game one setting franchise records for points in a quarter (39 in the first quarter), points in a half (67 in the first half), points in a game (127), 3-pointers in a game (10), assist in a game (Paul’s 17) and fans’ trips around the arena holding large cardboard cutouts of Peja Stojakovic’s head (47, barley edging out the last total of 41that happened to be set in Game 1).

The Mavericks has no answer for Chris Paul who was able to go anywhere he wanted on the floor. Dallas tried trapping him, they tried double teaming him, it even looked like they tried letting him do what he wanted while trying to stick with everyone else. Nothing worked. The Mavericks didn’t play tough at all, they didn’t fight for loose balls and they didn’t hit the boards.

Game three moves to the American Airlines Arena, where the Hornets have never won in franchise history. If the Mavericks are to have any shot at potentially moving past the first round, they’ll have to win Game 3 at home. What does this game mean to the Hornets? A win in game three takes a lot of pressure off of them to close this series out knowing two of the final four games will be at home with only one game left two win.
Other Notes:
The Peja Stojakovic heads have been the best story of the playoffs so far.

Submit Your Comments About This Series

Game 1 Recap
Kevin Johnson. Magic Johnson. Chris Paul. What do these three men have in common? They all played extremely well as point guards in their inaugural playoff game. KJ finished with 26 in a one point win over Denver in his first game. Magic had a 13-point, 12 rebound and 16 assist triple-double in his first playoff game in a win over Phoenix. On Saturday night, Chris Paul had 35 points, 10 assists, four steals and only one turnover in the Hornets' game 1 win over the Mavericks.

There were two games within the contest of the first game of the Hornets-Mavericks series. The first half of the game was seemingly all Dallas, especially in what may be the most important individual match up between the two teams. Dirk Nowitzki came out of the gates extremely aggressive. He was taking the ball to the rack hard, he ran the floor very well, he didn't settle for jump shots, he really let the game come to him. David West on the other hand grew frustrated early by the double teams that were thrown at him. His first five shots were contested jump shots, he started out one for six with another shot blocked. West showed no aggression and was not able to go get in the paint.

The Hornets' problems didn't stop with West. They finished the first half shooting 0 for 8 from behind the three point arch and just 9 for 27 from the field, Chris Paul was having problems finding his teammates (Paul finished with 11 and 3 at the half) and Jason Kidd was really pushing the ball well. Both Kidd and Josh Howard hit two late first half threes to send the Hornets into halftime down 12 holding a 52-40 lead.

The second half of the contest was a whole new ball game and it started with a 7-0 Chris Paul run to close the Mavericks lead to just two. Bonzi Wells tied the game at 68 with 2:20 left to play in the game and on the ensuing possession, Wells stole an errant Mavricks pass and hit Paul on to take the lead on a fast break lay-up. Paul finished the third quarter with 15 points and the Hornets outscored the Mavericks in the quarter by 16 points. If it weren't for Nowitzki and the difference between the free throw attempts at the end of the third (30 to 13 in favor of the Mavs), the deficit going into the fourth quarter would have been much worse.

New Orleans went on a 10-0 run early in the fourth and never really looked back after they took the lead late in the third. With about eight minutes left to play in the game, Avery Johnson's boys looked defeated. Nothing was falling for them, they couldn't stay in front of anyone, no one worked for rebounds and their body language was terrible. New Orleans was extremely scrappy getting hands on passes, fighting for all rebounds and loose balls and were attacking the basket. In the second half, they did everything they didn't do in the first half.
Other Notes:
Dirk Nowitzki and David West were assessed with technical fouls after a face-to-face confrontation where words were exchanged and West's hand was placed on Nowitzki's face. Both players downplayed the situation after the game.