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New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul gives a thumbs-up as he is taken from the court on a stretcher after being injured.

The New Orleans Hornets, right in the thick of the Western Conference, had an opponent that was looking to win their second straight game in the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The game in and of itself went as was expected as New Orleans easily made short work of Cleveland 96-81 at Quicken Loans Arena.

But the Hornets received a major scare when star point guard Chris Paul suffered a concussion.

Paul suffered the injury at the 4:36 mark of the third quarter when he lost the ball driving into the lane as he was defended by the Cavs’ Ramon Sessions and Samardo Samuels. When Paul tried to retrieve the loose ball,  he hit his head on Sessions’ right shoulder ans immediately hit the floor.

He was strapped to a flat board; fortunately, he had all of his feeling and gave a “thumbs-up” while leaving the arena. He was fully conscious nd aware of his surroundings, according to the Hornets. he is expected to miss Monday’s game.

Meanwhile, there was a game to be played. 

The Hornets outscored the Cavaliers 27-24 in the opening period and held serve in the second, taking a 51-48 to their locker room at the intermission.

Cleveland held a slim 61-60 lead with 4:36 left in the third at the time of Paul’s injury, but New Orleans went on a huge 24-8 run to take an 84-68 lead with 7:25 left in the game.

The Cavaliers wouldn’t seriously challenge the Hornets from that point on.

The Hornets were led by David West with a game-high 23 points, along with 7 rebounds, an assist and a steal while Marco Belinelli added 18 with 5 rebounds, an assist and a block. Jarrett Jack came off the bench to score 14 with 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals while Paul notched a double-double, scoring 13 with a rebound and 11 assists.

Baron Davis came off the bench to lead the Cavaliers in scoring with 17 points (including four 3-pointers), along with 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and a block while Sessions and J.J. Hickson each added 15 – with Sessions grabbing 2 rebounds and dishing out 4 assists while Hickson grabbed 10 boards and dished out 2 assists, along with a block.

New Orleans (37-28) plays again on Monday as they make the short flight to Chicago to take on the Bulls while Cleveland (12-50) remains at home to host the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday.