girllovesthegame

Chris Paul and the New Orleans Hornets are hoping to have two starters back in the lineup Wednesday night when they begin a stretch of six of eight games on the road with a matchup against the high-scoring Denver Nuggets.


The Hornets (14-7), who have the best road record in the Western Conference at 8-2, hope Peja Stojakovic (strained left groin) and Morris Peterson (lower back strain) will be healthy enough to return after missing Sunday's 91-88 win over Seattle. Both players were injured in the first half of a 118-116 overtime victory over Memphis on Friday.

Those absences have put the offensive onus on Paul, the team's leader with 21.0 points and 9.8 assists per game. The third-year point guard responded by shooting 10-for-16 from the field, scoring 29 points and adding 10 assists Sunday, two days after he made five 3-pointers and scored 43 points -- both career highs -- against the Grizzlies.

His performance against the SuperSonics even saw a little bit of luck, when he made a 28-foot rainbow at the shot clock buzzer late in the fourth quarter to give the Hornets the lead for good.

"I love the shots with the shot clock running down," Paul said. "Nobody expects me to make them. It was probably like a lucky shot. Crazy stuff happens and I'll take it."

His terrific play without the two starters helped New Orleans close a four-game homestand with three wins.

Paul, though, has struggled shooting the ball in four career games at the Pepsi Center, making 27.6 percent of his shots. He went 3-for-11 from the floor, scoring 15 points and dishing out 11 assists in New Orleans' last contest there, a 93-88 win on Nov. 4.

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I don't know what to expect from this game. Still haven't heard any word on Peja or Mo yet. Hopefully at least one of them will be back and hopefully the Hornets will get the win.

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