National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
New Orleans 95, Minnesota 81
When: 8:00 PM ET, Friday, February 25, 2011
Where: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Officials: # Brent Barnaky, #36 David Jones, #41 Ken Mauer
Attendance: 16965

Trevor Ariza scored 18 points and Chris Paul collected 17 points, eight assists and six rebounds as the visiting New Orleans Hornets cruised past the Minnesota Timberwolves, 95-81, on Friday.

Jarrett Jack added 13 points off the bench and Emeka Okafor returned following a 10-game absence due to an oblique strain to pick up 10 points and seven boards for the Hornets, who were without leading scorer David West due to a death in the family.

The win keeps New Orleans in fifth place in the Western Conference playoff race.

The Hornets came out strong, knocking down five 3-pointers in the first quarter and shooting 57 percent in the opening half to take a 55-43 edge into the locker room. The Timberwolves briefly cut it to single digits in the third but New Orleans closed the frame on a 20-10 run to expand the lead to 79-61.

Wesley Johnson and Luke Ridnour scored 22 points apiece and Kevin Love pushed his double-double streak to 45 games with 11 points and 14 rebounds for Minnesota.
Top Game Performances
 
New Orleans   Minnesota
Trevor Ariza 18 Scoring Wesley Johnson 22
Chris Paul 8 Assists Kevin Love 5
Emeka Okafor 7 Rebounds Kevin Love 14
Trevor Ariza 4 Free Throws Made Luke Ridnour 8
Jarrett Jack 4 Steals Kevin Love 1
Trevor Ariza 3 Blocks Darko Milicic 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
New Orleans 95 43.8 9-26 16-18 20 33 9 12 7
Minnesota 81 40.0 5-20 12-14 19 48 5 5 21
Upcoming Games
  • Minnesota will play their next game at home against Golden State. The Timberwolves have a W/L % of .231 after a win and .217 after a loss.
  • New Orleans will play their next game at home against Houston. The Hornets have a W/L % of .676 after a win and .462 after a loss.