West Scores 32 As Hornets Sting Spurs 102-78

New Orleans Hornets forward David West shoots against the San Antonio Spurs during the fourth quarter of their game, played Saturday night. West scored 32 points as New Orleans defeated San Antonio 102-78.

Despite the fact that they have some of the smaller crowds game-wise and one of the lower payrolls in the NBA, the New Orleans Hornets are making believers out of folks. Saturday’s game between the Hornets and San Antonio Spurs illustrates how far the team has come. David West and Peja Stojakovic combined for 54 points, leading the Hornets to a rout of the Spurs, 102-78 at San Antonio.

New Orleans, as they have been doing as of late, shot well, shooting 54.3%, as opposed to San Antonio’s 41.8%; the first half was actually fairly close as the Spurs, with 12 first-half points from Tim Duncan and 4-of-4 shooting from Fabricio Oberto, held a slim 43-42 lead at halftime. They would hold a 59-58 edge with 5:50 left in the period; but the Hornets, behind David West, went on a 14-5 run to take a 72-64 lead going into the fourth quarter. That burst, for all intents and purposes, iced the game for the Hornets.

New Orleans’ high scorer was West with 32 points and 7 rebounds, while Stojakovic scored 22, including 4 three-pointers; Chris Paul added 17 and 11 assists, while Tyson Chandler grabbed 12 boards. San Antonio was led by Tony Parker and Duncan with 17 each, while Ime Udoka added 13. New Orleans (31-12) returns home to host the Denver Nuggets Monday night, while San Antonio (28-14) travels to Salt Lake City to face the Utah Jazz - also on Monday.