As New Orleans’ Jannero Pargo slipped on his red-and-white candy-striped button-down shirt Tuesday night, a throng of reporters and TV cameras waited on New Orleans’ guard.

David Martin / Associated Press

Jannero Pargo celebrates at the end of the first half against the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the first round of the NBA basketball playoffs Tuesday, April 29, 2008, in New Orleans.

The small-in-stature, large-in-heart player from Arkansas isn’t always the one the media goes to talk to about the game.

After his series against the Mavericks, that just might change.

Pargo scored 17 big points off the bench for the Hornets and New Orleans clinched its first-ever postseason NBA series four games to one with a 99-94 win over Dallas in front of 18,260 fans at the New Orleans Arena.

“I expected it,” New Orleans head coach Byron Scott said. “I talked to him before the series started. I said Jason Terry was a key matchup for us, and I thought Jannero was a great matchup because of his speed, as well.

“I knew he was going to have a lot of opportunities for shots, and on the defensive end, I knew his energy and effort was going to help us tremendously.”

Simply put, Pargo was the Hornets’ sixth man of the series even before it started.

He had five points in the series-opening 104-92 win. He scored 10 in the 127-103 victory. He had a team-high 30 in New Orleans’ 97-87 loss. And then he had those 17 big points Tuesday night.

“He carried us a lot during this series and made some big plays for us,” Morris Peterson said. “He did a great job. I’d have to say he was our unsung hero in this series. A lot of times, when the shot clock was winding down or things weren’t going well, he came in and gave us a spark and got us over the hump.”

Added Peja Stojakovic, “Jannero Pargo gave us another scoring lift off the bench and I thought he was the key for us.”

Pargo’s play in the fourth quarter was critical to New Orleans’ win.

Leading 71-63 to start the period, Dallas cut the deficit to 73-66. Pargo drained a 3-pointer to push the lead back to 10.

After Jerry Stackhouse missed a jumper on the other end, Pargo converted a layup to get the advantage to 12.

Chris Paul hit a jumper and Julian Wright converted two free throws to give New Orleans an 82-67 lead before Pargo hit his third shot of the quarter, giving the Hornets a 17-point lead with seven minutes to play.

“I’m aggressive and I’ve been that way my whole basketball career,” Pargo said. “To be here and to have the opportunity to play freely and have the confidence from my coaches and my coaching staff, I’m speechless to have the opportunity to go out there and play my game the way I’ve been playing it.”

After the game, as players began to file out and reporters stopped asking questions, Tyson Chandler thought for a second about Pargo, the man whose locker is next to his.

“He has been playing incredible,” Chandler said. “I love to see him because he definitely deserves it. He works hard. He’s one of those guys who plays out there and loves the game and has fun no matter the situation.”