Davis lifts Hornets over Magic
By By Richard Dark / EMG staff writer
Dec. 4, 2003
NEW ORLEANS Baron Davis showed why he is the Eastern Conference Player of the Month for November.
And Orlando Magic guard Tracy McGrady simply showed more frustration. His game-high 29 points weren't enough to snap a 17-game losing free fall on Wednesday night.
The New Orleans Hornets instead got yet another heroic effort from Davis, who lit up the Magic for 27 points, six rebounds, five steals and 12 assists to propel the Hornets to their second victory over Orlando in as many nights, 106-91, at New Orleans Arena.
The Hornets improved to 13-6, while Orlando (1-17) has not tasted victory since opening night at New York.
Six Hornets hit in double figures, as they destroyed the Magic in the paint outscoring them 58-38, behind center Jamaal Magloire's 20 points and 14 boards. Tyronn Lue threw in 20 for Orlando. George Lynch scored seven of his 10 points in a decisive 15-4 run late in the final frame, much to the delight of the nearly 14,000 on hand. Darrell Armstrong also did his part to continue his former team's misery, by pumping in 14 off the bench.
McGrady was a little more forthright about the funk. "I'm just trying to get these guys to play a full 48 minutes. It's tough carrying this load," he said.
He did just that in the middle two quarters, scoring 23 from the perimeter, while keeping his squad within striking distance.
But the game became very much secondary between the final two quarters, when a fan collapsed from a cardiac arrest and had to be attended to by on site EMT personnel. After a delay of nearly 18 minutes, the teams went through a quick warm up and resumed play. The victim was quickly taken to a nearby hospital. His status was not known by press time.
Wild Weekends
The Hornets still have eight of 10 games remaining on their Weekend Regional ticket package. This plan is designed to attract regional fans from Mississippi and Louisiana outside of the immediate New Orleans area. The package includes the remaining Friday, Saturday and Sunday home games through the end of the year and is prorated at $180. That price gives one fan eight weekend games.
Teams remaining on the ticket plan include: Memphis, (12/20), Atlanta (12/26), Orlando (1/17), Miami (1/31), Cleveland (3/5), Golden State (3/13), Toronto (3/21) and Boston (4/9).
What's Next
The Hornets will host Yao Ming and the Houston Rockets on Friday at 7 pm.
