NEW ORLEANS – Peja Stokaovic walked out of the back of the Hornets locker room at the New Orleans Arena Thursday night, hoping to silently slip away from the spotlight.
But unlike the waves of Phoenix hands and arms flying at him on the court, he wasn’t able to escape the reporters assembled in the hallway.
Stojakovic had his best game in more than a season, scoring 25 points and grabbing 13 rebounds to help pace the Hornets to their biggest win of the season, a 110-103 win over the Suns.
He hit seven of New Orleans’ season-high 13 3-pointers, including a trey with 2:49 to play that gave the Hornets the lead for good.
“Sometimes I just show the talent that I have,” joked Stojakovic, who scored 20 points and had 10 rebounds on Jan. 21 against the Nets.
As opposed to Tuesday night when the Hornets (5-8) picked up a win over the hapless Clippers, Thursday’s victory came against the best team in the Western Division. The Suns fell to 10-3 with the loss.
Eight days after losing at Phoenix by 20 points in Byron Scott’s final game as head coach, the Hornets looked like their Southwest Division winning team of two seasons ago, pulling out key defensive stops coupled with big offensive sets late in the game.
More importantly, the Hornets were big again on the boards, outrebounding Phoenix 56-38. New Orleans picked up 38 second-chance points on 25 offensive rebounds. Phoenix finished with only 24 defensive rebounds.
“They had won their last three or four back to back,” said rookie guard Marcus Thornton, who finished with 19 points before leaving the game with an ankle injury. “Just avenging the loss we had up there. We didn’t play our best and everybody knew it. We all locked in these last couple of days of practice and got it done.”
New Orleans picked up the surprising win without its standout point guard Chris Paul, who missed his third straight game with a sprained left ankle. Paul is out indefinitely.
“I don’t think there was anything that happened that we didn’t warn our guys about,” Phoenix Head Coach Alvin Gentry said. “They were embarrassed by the way they performed at our place. You knew they were going to play better here. No doubt in my mind. Chris Paul or no Chris Paul, it doesn’t matter.”
With the game tied at 96, Stojakovic hit a nearly 30-foot 3-pointer with 2:46 to play.
After a Phoenix missed trey, Collison stepped back behind the arc and swiftly sank a 3 of his own, giving New Orleans a 102-96 lead.
Jared Dudley’s two free throws pulled the Suns back to within 102-98. But after exchanging several possessions, Collison drove the lane, faking a pass to his right before going to the rim for a layup and a 104-98 advantage with 38 seconds to play.
By the time Amar’e Stoudemire gave Phoenix 100 points, it was too late.
The Hornets made six straight free throws down the stretch, icing the game at home.
Devin Brown added 19 for New Orleans, which also got 15 from Collison and 13 from Emeka Okafor.
For Phoenix, Stoudemire had 23 and Jared Dudley added 17.
The Hornets broke out to a 15-2 lead four minutes into the game, a shocking start considering that in Phoenix, New Orleans allowed the Suns to score 40 first-quarter points.
"Before the game started, we actually talked about what would we do if we went and got the lead,” Hornets Head Coach Jeff Bower said. “Just to have a feeling of confidence and to talk about it, handling that situation.”
But Phoenix battled back and by the end of the first, had cut into New Orleans’ lead to the tune of 26-22.
