The Hornets and Spurs look to bounce back from shaky performances in wins over last-place teams as the Southwest Division rivals square off for the first time since last season's playoffs on Wednesday night in New Orleans.

After three straight trips to the lottery, New Orleans won a franchise-record 56 games last season and got their first playoff series win since 2002 by beating Dallas in the first round.

The Hornets' stunning success ended when they lost a seven-game series against the Spurs in the Western Conference semifinals.

Both teams expect to be back in the postseason this spring, but that'll likely take better performances than they put together in their last games.

San Antonio (15-8) nearly blew a 26-point lead in a tight 109-104 win over NBA-worst Oklahoma City on Sunday, and New Orleans (14-7) needed a late surge on Tuesday to pull out a 91-84 win over Memphis, the last-place team in the Southwest.

Spurs guard Tony Parker scored six straight points in the final minutes on Sunday to help San Antonio escape with its sixth straight win and 13th in 16 games after a 2-5 start.

"You never want to (have a big lead early in a game), because it's always dangerous," said Parker, who finished with 22 points and seven assists and went 9-for-18 from the field. "At the end it was kind of ugly, but we got the win and that's the most important thing."

That's similar to what Hornets All-Star point guard Chris Paul said on Tuesday after scoring five points with three assists in the final five minutes to help New Orleans pull out its ninth win in 11 games.

The victory pulled the Hornets into a virtual tie with San Antonio and Houston atop the division.

"We feel like we've been through a lot of things, and we were able to pull it together in the fourth," said Paul, who had 18 points, nine assists and five steals. Paul recorded a steal in his 105th straight contest, tying Alvin Robertson's NBA record.

Now, Paul will try to claim sole possession of that mark against a San Antonio team he averaged 23.1 points, 10.4 assists and 2.3 steals against last season, including the playoffs. He also shot 51.5 percent from the field as New Orleans went 5-6 in those 11 overall games.

Despite Paul's consistent success, the Spurs overcame an 0-2 deficit in the playoffs by winning four of the clubs' last five games, including a series-clinching 91-82 road win on May 19.

San Antonio was 2-4 overall in New Orleans in 2007-08.

The Hornets are averaging 106.0 points and shooting 50.0 percent during their four-game home winning streak, during which they've outscored opponents by an average of 15.0 points.

The Spurs, meanwhile, have won six of seven on the road.