Slam Dunk Central

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Apparently the Minnesota Timberwolves and prosperity have never met.? I mean after all, how do you go from scoring 131 points Friday night to scoring just 76 just twenty-four hours later?? Well, New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul showed the Timberwolves that they still have a lot of work to do if they want to improve as a team.? Paul, in less than 30 minutes, scored a double-double - leading the Hornets to a very impressive win over the T-Wolves 110-76 Saturday at New Orleans.

New Orleans shot 53% from the floor and just as importantly, scored 35 fast-break points; the Timberwolves also turned the ball over 21 times, which lead to 32 Hornets points.? New Orleans came out running very early in the first quarter on fast breaks; the Hornets shot 60% in the first period in gaining a 30-20 lead and could’ve made it much worse except for Minnesota F Ryan Gomes who scored 12 points in the first 7 minutes of the game.

Minnesota shot only 37% for the first half, allowing New Orleans to use a 13-3 run to open a 53-38 lead by halftime.? The Timberwolves were so flat that Hornets coach Byron Scott inserted rarely used forward Marcus Vinicius; Vinicius responded by scoring 2 baskets - the second basket a fast-break dunk.? New Orleans was led by David West with 22 points, while Paul in only 30 minutes scored 19 points, 15 assists and 5 steals.?

Minnesota’s leading scorer was Gomes with 20 points - including three 3-pointers, and 9 rebounds; Al Jefferson and Gerald Green added 11 each - Jefferson also grabbed 13 boards.? New Orleans (17-10) flies north to Memphis to take on the Grizzlies Wednesday night, while Minnesota (4-22) travels to Oakland to face the Golden State Warriors - also on Wednesday.