NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AP) -- David West had career playoff highs of 38 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots to lift New Orleans to a 101-79 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night and a 3-2 series lead.
A disconsolate Spurs bench looks on as they slip to a heavy defeat.
New Orleans looked impressive in winning the first two games at home but stumbled against the defending champions San Antonio on their road trip.
Back in the Big Easy, the Hornets cruised again.
"We've proved all season long we're one of the better teams in the NBA," Hornets coach Byron Scott said.
"We had every reason after Games 3 and 4 to fold, but again, being with these guys, they've showed this type of resilience all season, so I'm not surprised."
Chris Paul had 16 of his 22 points in the second half and added 14 assists for New Orleans, who have never advanced past the second round of the playoffs.
Manu Ginobili led San Antonio with 20 points and Tony Parker had 18. The Hornets held Tim Duncan to 10 points, though Duncan was a force on the glass with 23 rebounds.
"They did a great job of crowding the paint and also getting back to our shooters," Duncan said.
"They were very physical on the post. I didn't shoot the ball very well and those opportunities kind of turned into them running it back at us."
Game 6 is Thursday night in San Antonio, where the Spurs are 5-0 in the postseason.
In the Eastern Conference, Richard Hamilton scored 31 points to lead the Detroit Pistons to the NBA semifinals for the sixth year in a row by defeating Orlando 91-86.
It gave them an unassailable 4-1 lead in their best-of-seven series.
The Pistons will meet either the Boston Celtics or Cleveland Cavaliers for a place in next month's NBA Finals.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
| Most Viewed | Most Emailed | Top Searches |
| Most Viewed | Most Emailed | Top Searches |
From the Blogs: 
Sit tight, we're getting to the good stuff
