Recap: Oklahoma City vs. New Orleans
Sports Network | November 22, 2008
Oklahoma City, OK (Sports Network) - David West scored 19 points and Chris Paul scored 17 to go with six assists and six rebounds as the New Orleans Hornets returned to a familiar venue for a 105-80 blowout over the Thunder.
The Hornets played 71 home games at the Ford Center in the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons in the wake of the destruction of Hurricane Katrina before returning back to the Big Easy.
While toiling in Oklahoma City, the Hornets averaged over 18,000 fans per game and the NBA was so impressed by the local faithful that the city rose to the top of the list for a future expansion team or as a possible destination for a relocation.
That came to fruition in the offseason as the Seattle SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma, and the Thunder were born.
However, this season has been a brutal one thus far for Oklahoma City, which fell to 1-12. Their current skid stands at 10 games.
Devin Brown scored 16, while Hilton Armstrong and Peja Stojakovic each had 13 for the Hornets in the front end of the home-and-home series.
Kevin Durant scored 17 points, while Nick Collison tallied 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Thunder. Russell Westbrook scored 15.
New Orleans didn't trail the entire game. Brown's three-pointer expanded the advantage to 22-12 late in the first, with the bucket ending a 9-0 spurt.
Ahead by nine after the first quarter, the Hornets pulled away late in the second, using a 20-2 spurt. Armstrong's layup capped it for a 48-24 difference and it was 60-39 at the half. It was 83-57 after three periods.
The Hornets have won six straight over the Seattle/Oklahoma City franchise...Oklahoma City had 26 turnovers, leading to 32 New Orleans points.
