(AP Photo/Bill Haber)

Rasual Butler shoots over Phoenix Suns forward Louis Amundson.

Wednesday morning during the shoot around, Chris Paul made a plea to his team to be more aggressive on the floor.

Nearly 10 hours later, his teammates obliged, picking up 16 more rebounds and getting to the foul line for 35 free throws against Phoenix.

The end result?

A 104-91 win against the visiting Suns that gave New Orleans its fifth win in six games and second against Phoenix this season.

David West led the aggressive charge, scoring 23 points and picking up 14 rebounds. Ten of his points came from the charity stripe.

Chris Paul added 24 points and 15 assists and went 8-for-8 from the free throw line. Peja Stojakovic had 24 points, hitting 5-of-7 3-pointers.

Thirty of New Orleans’ points came in the paint and the Hornets (10-6) finished with 28 second-chance points to Phoenix’s 13.

While it wasn’t a complete performance – Phoenix cut a 14-point first-quarter deficit to one by halftime – it was a fulfilling one in front of a home crowd.

“The aggressive nature we want to have for the entire game we had pretty much tonight,” Hornets head coach Byron Scott said. “That’s something we’ve got to continue to grow as a team and continue to attack.”

Said Phoenix head coach Terry Porter, “Offensive rebounds really hurt us and those guys got to the line a lot. We couldn’t get offensive rebounds and make those shots when we needed to.”

New Orleans took 22 more free throws than Phoenix (11-8)

“We’re one of the best free throw shooting teams in the league, but we don’t utilize it enough because we don’t get to the rim enough,” Scott said. “Guys made a conscious effort to put their head down a little bit more tonight and try to get to the basket and get to the free-throw line.”

After darting out to a 14-point first-quarter lead, Phoenix cut into the deficit largely on New Orleans’ second unit, pulling to within 51-50 at halftime.

With 4:34 to go in the third quarter, the Suns took a 63-60 lead on an Amare Stoudemire dunk.

And then Peja Stojakovic got the crowd going. He also got his teammates back into the game.

“When teams see him open, you look at the opposing team’s coach and they put their head down,” Paul said. “When he’s shooting like that, we’re almost unstoppable.”

After Chandler’s dunk made it 63-62, Stojakovic drilled a trey, giving the Hornets the lead. Forty-seven seconds later, he put in another 3-pointer.

Devin Brown sank a triple on the Hornets’ next possession for a 71-64 advantage and the Arena was in full throat.

Stojakovic wasn’t done.

Raja Bell hit a 3-pointer for Phoenix and Stojakovic answered with a deep jumper, falling to the floor and coaxing a foul call from the official. He made his free throw and New Orleans was up 74-67.

All told, Stojakovic had 14 fourth-quarter points, nine coming in a two-minute span that saw the Hornets turn a three-point deficit into a seven point lead.

“The biggest thing is trying to make sure you get him more shots,” Scott said. “He opens it up for everybody.”

The Hornets outscored Phoenix 31-19 in the decisive third quarter, and got to the free throw line for 11 shots compared to one for the Suns.

“It was a point to be more aggressive,” said Chandler, who finished with 14 points and nine rebounds. “When you say let’s be more aggressive and attack the basket, good things happen.”

New Orleans hosts Memphis on Saturday night in the second of three straight home games. The hope from Scott is that his team continues its roll.

“It’s a chance for us to do some things at home we haven’t lately,” Scott said. “We’ve got to play better at home. Hopefully this is an indication of us getting back to where we feel we should get to.”

Bradley Handwerger can be reached at bhandwerger@wwltv.com or 504-529-6439.