Hornets keep rolling with win

By By Richard Dark/EMG staff writer
January 18, 2004
NEW ORLEANS Tim Floyd and those inside the New Orleans Arena breathed a collective sigh of relief.
The Hornets somehow, some way, managed to snap a season-long four-game losing streak. And in the process, another pair of scorers emerged for a team that is quickly becoming riddled with injuries.
Steve Smith and Robert "Tractor" Traylor came off the bench to ignite the listless Hornet offense and New Orleans rallied in the fourth quarter to slip past the Orlando Magic 91-90. The win also gave New Orleans (23-17) a season sweep of the Magic (10-31). Smith finished with 17 and Traylor dominated the paint to collect 14 and seven rebounds.
The Hornets had to clamp down and defend a last second game-winner by Tracy McGrady, whose layup attempt with two ticks left rolled over the side of the rim, much to the rowdy delight of the 15,428 fans.
McGrady lit up New Orleans again, this time throwing in a game-high 33 points. Juwan Howard scored eight of his 16 in the fourth quarter. But McGrady scored just six of those over the final 19:35, thanks in large part to the tenacious defense of Stacey Augmon.
Baron Davis scored 16 to go with eight assists and Augmon added 12 for the Hornets.
New Orleans took care of the ball in the pivotal final frame, only turning it over only twice.
But things looked bad for the hosts in the third, as McGrady paced an Orlando 21-9 run that gave them their largest lead of the evening at 71-60 with less than two minutes until the fourth. The seesaw affair featured 22 lead changes and nine ties.
Jamal Magloire notched his 16th double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 boards.
The Hornets will return to action Monday night when they head to Minnesota to take on the Timberwolves.