Los Angeles at New Orleans

Lakers-Hornets

9:30 PM ET, April 24, 2011

New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, LA
      Points     Rebounds     Assists
LAL    Bryant 25.0    Bynum 10.3    2 with 3.7
NO    Paul 25.0    Ariza 8.7    Paul 10.3

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Chris Paul insisted he could not remember exactly how or when he wound up with a left thumb injury that forced him to practice with a black wrap on his left hand on Saturday.

He did have an excuse, though.

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"We've got more stuff to worry about than my thumb ... such as winning this game," Paul said of the Hornets' Game 4 matchup on Sunday night with the Los Angeles Lakers, who lead the best-of-seven, first-round series 2-1.

"It's a big game for us. It's 2-1. It's nothing to stress about or anything like that, but I think tomorrow is a game we really need to win," Paul said.

Paul expected to be fine for Sunday's game and Hornets coach Monty Williams said his All-Star guard did not appear to be limited by the injury to his non-shooting hand.

The Hornets can ill-afford to be without Paul at his best. He has averaged 25 points, 10.3 assists, five rebounds and two steals during the postseason. His 33-point, 14-assist performance in Game 1 was the main reason the Hornets were able to open the series with an upset on the road.

The Hornets hoped to get a boost from returning home after surprisingly splitting the first two games in Los Angeles. Instead, the Lakers walked out of a jam-packed, boisterous New Orleans Arena with a 100-86 win, the most lopsided result of the first three games.

Kobe Bryant was his typical prolific self with 30 points, but for Lakers coach Phil Jackson, the key to the win was the way Andrew Bynum 14 points, 11 rebounds) and Pau Gasol (17 points, 10 rebounds) alternated in giving the Lakers a dominant presence in the paint.

"The strength of our game kind of came back to play in this series," Jackson said. "Kobe obviously had a big game offensively, but it was really Drew in the first half and Pau in the second getting things done."

If the Lakers win on Sunday, it would give them a chance to close out the series in Los Angeles on Tuesday night and avoid having to come back to the Big Easy for Game 6 on Thursday.

A Los Angeles win also would mark the third time in four games that the visiting team had won in the series.

"It was always funny to us. Everybody talks about home court advantage," Bryant said. "We don't care about that stuff. It doesn't matter to us where we play. ... Our philosophy is, it's just a bunch of noise. That's all it is. I just block it out.

"If you have kids, you're used to dealing with that," added Bryant, who has two young daughters. "If you're trying to get something done and your kids are yelling all over the place, you've just got to focus on what you're doing."

Williams had sought to downplay any home advantage for the Hornets before Game 3, reminding his players that fans cannot shoot or rebound, and that the only way to benefit from the energy of a home crowd is play a well enough all-around game to keep the crowd engaged.

But the Hornets gave up 14 offensive rebounds, committed 14 turnovers and missed six free throws. Although they were as close as 75-70 early in the fourth quarter. They never truly threatened to take a lead in the second half.

Williams said the key is for his players to remember they've been competitive for most of the first three games and not get demoralized now that the Lakers are on the brink of taking a stranglehold on the series.

"I told the guys, 'You don't realize how close you are. You're playing against the defending champs and they're playing some of their best ball and you're right there," Williams said. "It's frustrating personally because for whatever reason, I'm not putting them in a position to make that run."

Part of the problem for the Hornets in Game 3 was that Paul was a non-factor in the second half, when he scored only four of his 22 points. Paul refused to use his thumb injury as an excuse, and instead blamed himself for not being aggressive enough when the Lakers made a defensive adjustment to deny him the ball.

Bryant, meanwhile, has been through enough postseasons to know that a playoff series is all about adjustments, both during and between games.

Indeed, Williams spent Saturday's practice working on ways for the Hornets to make scoring inside and rebounding harder for the Lakers. Meanwhile, some Hornets players have talked about Game 4 being a must-win.

Rather than seize upon that as a sign that the Hornets are in trouble, Bryant said the Lakers need to see it as a reason to ramp up their own efforts.

"We have the series lead. That doesn't mean we're in command of the series," Bryant said. "So their approaching it as a must-win is just a bigger challenge for us to come out and try to match that energy. It should be fun."

Bryant also is drawing motivation from the fact that the game is taking him away from home -- and his children -- on Easter Sunday.

"My girls said, 'Well, just win. It's OK (to be away on the holiday) if you win. Just don't lose," Bryant said.

Then the five-time NBA champion added with a grin: "I don't know where they get that attitude."

New Orleans at LA Lakers

Hornets-Lakers

10:30 PM ET, April 20, 2011

STAPLES Center, Los Angeles, CA

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Chris Paul is a problem for just about any opponent's defense. As the New Orleans point guard proved in the Hornets' playoff opener, he's a particular conundrum for the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Lakers have spent the past two days scheming ways to slow down the four-time All-Star in Game 2 on Wednesday night after he torched them for 33 points and 14 assists in the Hornets' series-opening victory.

"It's always a challenge, but I feel like we can do a much better job," Kobe Bryant said Tuesday after a second straight lengthy practice day for the Lakers.

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After two days of evaluation, the Lakers confirm their worst fears about Paul's abilities were realized in Game 1. The Lakers are not particularly well-equipped to counter what Paul does well, and Bryant said they'll need more than one player paying attention to Paul on every play just to slow him.

"One of our biggest problems was there was a lack of communication defensively," said Lamar Odom, who managed just one rebound in Game 1. "We've got to try to trap this kid as much as possible, make it as tough on him as we can."

So why is Paul such a nightmare for the Lakers? It's not just because they obviously lack a strong defender at point guard: Derek Fisher is years past his speediest form, while backup Steve Blake just returned to practice Monday after a week off the court with a bout of chicken pox.

It's because the Lakers' greatest physical asset is their size, and Paul's poised speed negates much of that. Almost nobody in the NBA can keep up with Paul one-on-one, forcing the Lakers to commit more of their defensive resources to Paul.

"We can't let him have a lot of space to dictate and decide what he wants to do," said center Andrew Bynum, who blocked two shots in Game 1.

Los Angeles' pick-and-roll defense has been excellent at times during the season, but coach Phil Jackson said Paul's basketball sense makes the Hornets' favorite play particularly tough to contain. No matter how the Lakers approach it, Paul can find a way to exploit it, either with a quick drive or a savvy pass.

"He attacks in the pick-and-roll," New Orleans reserve Willie Green said. "He can split it, he can shoot the jumper, so he can create a lot of problems. I'm sure the Lakers are going to do a good job of adjusting, making him kick the ball out and have other guys beat them, so we've just got to be prepared for their adjustments and try to continue to attack."

Paul and Hornets coach Monty Williams appeared to work together well in Game 1, with Williams noting several instances in which Paul had already called out the play Williams was preparing to send in to his players.

Near the close of an impressive rookie coaching season, Williams is still learning the best ways to help Paul. Sometimes the coach will call plays, but he'll also allow Paul to run the show.

"It's been tough on him because I, at times, have messed it up trying to call too many sets," Williams said. "I think a lot of times it happened because when you have someone like (injured scoring leader) David West on the floor, you want to take advantage of both.

"(Now) I'm just watching him. I watch and I watch," Williams added. "He'll look at me and we'll have something, but I have to help him out as best I can and try to put him in positions where teams can't take him out, which is hard. But having him on the floor has made me look better as a coach than I should, that's for sure."

Paul is coming off lowest-scoring season of his career, with fans questioning his commitment to New Orleans after his infamous wedding toast to a future partnership with Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire in New York. Paul said he "tried to have a different intensity" when the playoffs began, mostly to show his less-experienced teammates how it's done.

Did he ever.

Between his baskets and assists, Paul was directly responsible for nearly 58 percent of the Hornets' points in Game 1. He relentlessly broke down the Lakers off the dribble, usually after a pick-and-roll.

Paul did most of his ball distribution in the first half with 10 assists while the Hornets made nearly 60 percent of their shots, but he took over as a scorer down the stretch with 17 points in the fourth quarter. Paul also had seven rebounds and four steals with just two turnovers.

Paul is just the fourth player in the past 20 seasons to record at least 33 points and 14 assists in a playoff game. Although Williams' game plan baffled the Lakers, he knew he couldn't take credit for all of Paul's brilliance.

"He did some things that I didn't coach," Williams said. "I didn't show him how to do it, for sure. He's an exceptional player, and he's hard to guard. It's going to be paramount for the rest of our team to help him out, because they're not going to allow him easy looks. I don't think they did (in Game 1). I thought Chris hit tough shots. He's paid to make tough shots. People forget that, and he does it well most nights."

Game notes

Hornets C Aaron Gray, who scored a season-high 12 points in Game 1, still doesn't know whether he'll be able to play with his sprained right ankle. "It's hard here in practice just watching the guys go and having to kind of be on the sideline," Gray said Tuesday. "That's definitely difficult, so I couldn't even imagine what it would be like (to sit out) during the game. Hopefully we're not at that point."