After a fourth quarter in which the Hornets outmuscled, outfought and outplayed them down the stretch to claim a 90-83 victory at New Orleans Arena, the Spurs were stuck with a different kind of memory.

As he did the last time the Spurs lost, at home to Detroit on Dec. 2, coach Gregg Popovich used his postgame news conference as a bully pulpit to eviscerate what he perceived to be a lack of toughness in his team.

"They were tougher down the stretch, mentally and physically," Popovich said. "They outplayed us in that regard."

David West had 21 points - including a pair of crucial and unlikely 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, while Chris Paul had 19 points, 12 assists and set an NBA steals record as the Hornets outscored the Spurs 20-5 in the final 11 minutes to wrest victory away from defeat.

The loss snapped a six-game winning streak for the Spurs, who dropped to 15-9 and missed a shot to regain sole possession of the Southwest Division lead. That honor, for now, falls to the Hornets (15-7).

The Spurs will try to rebound tonight at Orlando, when they close their two-game road trip against one of the top teams in the East.

The Spurs weren't so much disappointed in the loss as in the way it came. Down the stretch, when they pride themselves on a steely resolve, they were continually outexecuted and outhustled.

"There's no question about it - they were tougher than us, especially in the fourth quarter," said Spurs guard Manu Ginobili, who had 17 points and nine rebounds. "It really upsets me that somebody beat us because they played harder than us."

Tony Parker had 20 points to lead the Spurs, while Tim Duncan had 16 points and 11 rebounds to post his eighth-consecutive double-double.

But the Spurs could shoot only 31 of 80 from the field. In the fourth quarter, they made just 4 of 21 field goals - and one of those makes came on Tyson Chandler's goaltend of a Parker attempt.

Matt Bonner, the league's leading 3-point shooter heading into the night, attempted a team-high 15 shots, making just three. He was 1 of 8 from 3-point range for seven points.

"Sometimes, there are nights like this," Bonner said. "It's frustrating."

Paul came into the game with one eye on history. He was hoping to record a steal for the 106th consecutive game, and break the NBA mark held by Alvin Robertson.

Paul's moment came with 3:43 left in the first half, when he intercepted a pass from Parker intended for Duncan.

"It's an unbelievable accomplishment, to make a mark in history," Paul said.

Perhaps it was only fitting that, on his record night, that he and his teammates used a suffocating fourth-quarter defensive effort to pull off the biggest heist of all.

After Ginobili's layup with 11:06 to go, it would be nearly five more minutes before the Spurs could muster another field goal.

Still, the Spurs led 79-72 heading into the final five minutes, poised to ruin Paul's party. That's when West decided to impersonate Peja Stojakovic.

Stojakovic, the Hornets' sharpshooting forward, was a late scratch from Wednesday's game after developing back spasms. In the crucial moments of the fourth quarter, they got a reasonable facsimile of him.

West, who had only made three 3-pointers this season before Wednesday, sank his fourth with 4:36 left. Moments later, West buried another one, and New Orleans had closed to within 79-78 with 2:53 to play.

A pair of Chandler foul shots gave the Hornets the lead, again and for good, with 2:13 remaining.

"We kept fighting, kept our focus," Hornets coach Byron Scott said. "We didn't get discouraged. We knew we had to get some shots and we knew we had to get some stops and we were prepared to do both."