• Tweet

• Tweet

New Orleans Hornets forward David West has, as of late, been offensive – but in a good way.

West on Tuesday against the Houston Rockets lit up the scoreboard for 44 points and was looking to make his presence known Wednesday night as the Hornets welcomed the Miami Heat to New Orleans Arena. While Chris Paul is still the leader of the team, West is making a case for being CP-3′s wingman as he drained six points in the last 55 seconds of the game, leading New Orleans to the 95-91 win over Miami.

The Hornets led most of the first half and was able to widen its lead with reserves in the middle of the second quarter. Rookie Darren Collison led two fast breaks to perfection, finishing one with a soaring dunk and the other with a pass to Darius Songaila cutting through the lane for a layup as he was fouled. Marcus Thornton capped the surge with a 3-pointer, giving New Orleans a 39-28 lead. Quentin Richardson made a pair of 3s late in the second quarter to pull Miami as close as 46-40. Then West, who had 10 points in the first half, scored inside to help the Hornets take a 48-40 lead into halftime.

Paul would complete a three-point play, giving New Orleans a 61-51 lead. Late in the period, Paul found Emeka Okafor inside for a dunk and then hit a jumper in the final seconds, putting New Orleans up 73-59 heading into the fourth quarter. The Hornets took their largest lead when Songaila’s jumper made it 77-62 early in the fourth quarter, but Miami suddenly turned the tide with a 10-0 run highlighted by Dwyane Wade’s transition 3 and Udonis Haslem’s three mid-range baskets.

With the Hornets desperate for offense, West and Paul got them going again, with West hitting a jumper to stop Miami’s run. Soon after, Paul banked in a 30-foot, bailout 3 at the shot-clock buzzer, putting the Hornets up 82-76. Miami kept chipping away, however, and the Hornets needed West’s jumper with 54.3 seconds left to regain the lead at 89-88. After Daequan Cook missed a 3 for Miami, West was fouled on the rebound and hit two free throws, then hit two more foul shots after rebounding Okafor’s block of Haslem’s shot in the lane.

West led the Hornets with 21 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal while Paul added 18 with 5 rebounds, 9 assists and 4 steals; Devin Brown pitched in 16 with 6 rebounds while Okafor poured in 15 with 14 rebounds and a block. Wade led all Heat scorers with 22 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 blocks while Richardson poured in 14 (including four 3-pointers) with 8 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal.

New Orleans (14-16) plays again on Saturday when they host the Houston Rockets while Miami (16-13) makes the short trip to San Antonio to take on the Spurs Thursday night.