PA SPORTSTICKER NBA PLAYOFF PREVIEW
     (NEW ORLEANS-SAN ANTONIO)



*Hornets look to take commanding 3-1 lead vs. Spurs*
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New Orleans at San Antonio                         8:00 pm EDT
Western Conference semifinals                Hornets lead, 2-1


SAN ANTONIO (Ticker) -- Chris Paul and the New Orleans Hornets do
not want to give the defending champions any more momentum.


Paul hopes to help the Hornets add some pressure in Game Four of
their Western Conference semifinals series against the San
Antonio Spurs when the two teams clash on Sunday.


Although Paul has been the top performer of the postseason so
far, it was the backcourt of the Spurs that was the top story in
Game Three, as Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili combined for 62
points in a 110-99 victory on Thursday that kept the Spurs out
of a 3-0 hole.


"We know that going 3-0, it's never been done to come back like
that," Ginobili said. "For us, it was a Game Seven. We knew if
we didn't win, it was almost over. So we had a different
approach. We played with more passion, more edge."


"You got to give them a lot of credit," New Orleans coach Byron
Scott said. "I thought they played a lot more aggressive. A lot
more physical. Basically kind of took us right out of our game.
I thought we lost our composure a little bit as well."


The biggest difference from the first two games of the series
came with San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich's decision to pull
defensive-minded forward Bruce Bowen off Paul and switch him
onto 3-point specialist Peja Stojakovic, who had just eight
points after scoring 47 over the first two games.


"Chris is going to score regardless," Parker said. "He's got the
ball in his hands every single time. Every single play it's
Chris Paul. He's going to score. So we decided to put Bruce on
Peja and at least hold somebody down because Peja was killing
us."


One bright spot that continues to be a plus for the Hornets
remains the defensive play of Tyson Chandler against All-Star
Tim Duncan, who is averaging just 13.0 points and 8.0 rebounds
in this series.


The point guard battle between Paul, who is averaging 27.3
points in the series, and Parker has been one most intense
matchups in the postseason.


"It's great fun, great matchup, a great challenge for me,"
Parker said. "So I'm having a lot of fun. It's always good when
you play against the best players. That's why you want to play
in the NBA, to play against the best."


The home teams are an impressive 11-1 out of all four conference
semifinals series this season.