Peja Down The Stretch Wins It For Hornets Slip By Magic 98-97

Posted by Jeff Sack under Main

Peja Stojakovic did not score a lot of points for the New Orleans Hornets Tuesday, however he scored?6 of his 10 points in the game during the last 1:05 of the game and proved to be the difference for the Hornets as they just got by the Orlando Magic 98-97. Chris Paul and David West both recorded double-doubles in the victory.

Orlando looked pretty magical early on during the game, as they took a 27-21 lead at the end of the first quarter. It appeared that this was pretty much going to be a one sided affair as the two teams went to their locker rooms at the half with the Magic leading 53-44. But momentum has a funny way of changing quickly in the Association, and this contest epitomized it perfectly. The Hornets looked like they had been doused with insecticide as they were reeling through most of the third quarter. They would hit their low with 4:28 left in the period, when Maurice Evans hit a 24 foot trey putting Orlando on top? 72-61.? And that’s when the momentum shifted, as New Orleans ended the quarter on a 13-4 run, and went into the final 12 minutes down by just a deuce 76-74. Baskets by Hilton Armstrong and David West to lead off the fourth put the Hornets on top 78-76 with 11:14 remaining in the contest. But this battle was not even close to being over! The lead went back and forth for the rest of the?quarter, and it looked like it might end up an Orlando win as Evans hit another trey to put the Magic on top 95-92 with 1:30 left in?the game. And then Peja took over, he hit one at the line with 1:05 left, then with 54 seconds remaining Stojakovic hit a 26 foot trey putting New Orleans up 96-95. Peja sealed the win with two from the charity stripe.??

Chris Paul led the way for the Hornets as he scored 19 points, dished off 12 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals. Mo Peterson also scored 19 points for New Orleans, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, David West scored 18 points, grabbed 11 boards, 2 assists, 1? block.? Another nice night for my NBA Comeback Player of the Year award candidate Tyson Chandler, as he scored 12 points, 7 rebounds, 1 block, Peja scored 10 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist.

Hedo Tukoglu paced Orlando as he scored a game high 26 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, Rashard Lewis scored 24 points, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 rebound.? Another night, another double-double for?Dwight Howard as he scored 17 points, 15 boards, 2 blocks, 1 steal, 1 assist, Maurice Evans scored 11 points, 1 rebound. Keith Bogans scored 11 points coming off the pine, 3 rebounds. New Orleans is now 51-22, the Magic are 47-28.

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