Hawks fall to Hornets

ATLANTA - The New Orleans Hornets lost a crown or two but they're still playing like kings of the road.

Center Tyson Chandler missed the second half after losing two crowns, but the Hornets still continued their road success, beating the Atlanta Hawks 92-86 on Friday night as David West had 22 points and 17 rebounds.

A first-half collision caused Chandler's dental damage. Chandler was taken to a local dentist and was expected to join the team at the Atlanta airport. He is expected to be available for Saturday night's home game against Dallas.

The Hornets improved to 8-2 in road games. Orlando is the only team in the league with more road wins.

Chris Paul, who had 20 points, said it is important for the Hornets to take advantage of road games against teams from the Eastern Conference.

``Anytime you can win on the road, you really have to beat that Eastern Conference,'' Paul said. ``You don't get to play those teams but two times a year, so any time you beat the Eastern Conference it's good.''

Atlanta couldn't take advantage of the Hornets losing Chandler because the Hawks, who committed 20 turnovers, kept losing the ball.

Joe Johnson had six turnovers and Josh Smith had five.

``I take a lot of blame for that,'' Johnson said. ``Our offense wasn't clicking. Offensively, we weren't sharing the ball.''

New Orleans coach Byron Scott said his team's defense deserved credit.

``We did a good job on Joe, making sure he didn't have a lot of room,'' Scott said. ``It was just all on the defensive end, that's the bottom line.''

New Orleans won with a 22-10 advantage in points off turnovers.

``That's not good,'' said Marvin Williams, who led the Hawks with 18 points. ``That's 20 opportunities we didn't get to score.''

Jannero Pargo had 13 points, including 11 in the second half, and Morris Peterson added 12 for the Hornets.

The Hawks stayed close, even leading at halftime, despite their problems handling the ball. Back-to-back baskets by Peterson gave the Hornets their first double-figure lead at 82-69 with 6:09 left.

Atlanta answered with six straight points before Pargo hit a jumper and a 3-pointer on back-to-back possessions for New Orleans.

Smith's three-point play with 30 seconds left cut the lead to 87-83.

Johnson had 17 points, despite making only five of 20 shots, and nine assists. Smith added 16 points and nine rebounds.

Hawks rookie Al Horford had nine points and matched his high with 15 rebounds.

``This is definitely a good win, because (Atlanta) is a good team,'' Paul said. ``Atlanta is a team that likes to run, so playing them tonight prepares us for Dallas.''

The Hawks led 45-43 at halftime despite a 10-3 deficit in offensive rebounds.

Atlanta has played its best defense in the second half of its last five games, giving up an average of 37.6 points in the final two periods, including 14.2 in the final quarter. The Hornets turned up their scoring with 49 points in the second half.

The Hawks' defensive efforts were undone by their offensive shortcomings against the Hornets. The Hawks committed nine turnovers in the third quarter, leading to seven points for the Hornets.

``Offensively, we never could get it clicking,'' Johnson said. ``We were forcing the issue. We weren't patient enough.''

The Hawks scored only 41 points in the second half.

``I'm very puzzled,'' said Hawks coach Mike Woodson. ``In the third quarter we were very lethargic.

``In the second half we got to selfish and stingy. Everybody was trying to do it individually.''

NOTES: The Hornets moved to 17-9 in their last 26 games against the Hawks. ... Paul had 16 points in the first half. ... Hawks rookie PG Acie Law (left ankle sprain) practiced on Thursday and participated in Friday's shootaround before missing his eighth straight game. Law started five games before suffering the injury. ... Williams returned to Atlanta's starting lineup after missing one game with a hip injury.