The Hornets have one game left on their three-game California road trip, and it's also their last game against a team with a losing record this season. The Hornets (47-27) beat the Clippers, 104-98, Wednesday night in the middle game of the road trip. Then they headed to Oakland to play the last-place Warriors on Friday.
After that they head home to play the Jazz on Sunday, which begins a season-ending stretch against teams with winning records: the Heat, the Suns, the Mavericks (twice), the Rockets, and the Spurs. The Hornets hope to boost their chances of getting the home court in the first round of the playoffs before they begin the challenging finish. After Wednesday's results, the Hornets had climbed into a tie with the Trail Blazers for fifth place in the West, and the Hornets have the better conference record. They were a half-game behind the second-place Rockets and one game behind the first-place Spurs in the Southwest Division.
The Hornets need one more victory, or one Suns loss, to clinch a playoff berth for the second consecutive season.
HORNETS 104, CLIPPERS 98: Five Hornets scored in double-figures and they forced 24 turnovers to defeat the Clippers on Wednesday night in Staples Center. Chris Paul scored 12 of his game-high 30 points in the fourth quarter as the Hornets prevailed in a tightly-contested game for the second time in as many nights. They won at the Sacramento Kings, 111-110, 24 hours earlier as Rasual Butler barely beat the final buzzer in making a three-pointer.
Hornets forward David West, who tied his career high with 40 points against the Kings, despite playing the last two-and-a-half quarters on a sprained left ankle, gutted out 43-plus minutes on the gimpy ankle against the Clippers.
"This was a great win coming off last night," Paul said. "We kept the pressure on them all night long."
The Hornets won their eighth straight against the Clippers.
