MVP candidate Paul leads New Orleans to thrilling 108-97 win Chicago

Posted by Kyle Stack under Main

How?s that for a statement game? The New Orleans Hornets kept pace with the surging Houston Rockets in the West with a furious fourth quarter comeback Monday against the Chicago Bulls. New Orleans outscored Chicago 33-13 in the fourth quarter to beat the Bulls 108-97 in front of a frenzied New Orleans crowd.

Chicago made a 8-0 run in the middle of the third quarter to turn a 56-55 lead into a 64-55 advantage. Both teams traded shots down the stretch of the third quarter before ending the period with a 84-75 Bulls lead.

Chicago continued their run into the first half of the fourth quarter, even maintaining their nine-point advantage as late as 6:13 left in the game. At that point, it was Chris Paul time. The precocious point guard gave another MVP-like performance, scoring 13 points and handing out two assists in the final six minutes.

After a layup and Bonzi Wells jumper made it 93-88 Chicago with 5:37 left, Paul hit back-to-back layups, forcing Chicago to take a timeout as it clung to a one-point lead. Coming out of the timeout, Ben Gordon hit a jumper and then traded free throws with Wells. Paul then drilled a three, dished assists to Tyson Chandler and Wells and made a running jumper with 44 seconds left to give the Hornets a 104-96 lead.

Paul scored 37 points and had 13 assists in a game that could put him at the forefront of the MVP race. Peja Stojakovic scored 21 points and Wells threw in 19 points, including seven in the fourth quarter.

Drew Gooden scored 23 points and ripped 12 rebounds for Chicago. Luol Deng and Larry Hughes each added 16 for the Bulls.

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