By KEN PETERS, AP Sports Writer
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap;_y...110613&prov=ap
November 7, 2007
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Peja Stojakovic went on a long-range scoring spree, and Chris Paul was a generous playmaker as each rewrote the Hornets' record book.
Stojakovic made a franchise-high 10 3-pointers, and Paul broke another mark with 21 assists Tuesday night in New Orleans' 118-104 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
"It was a good night for our team," Stojakovic said in obvious understatement.
He missed just three of 13 shots from behind the arc and finished with 36 points. He was only 2-of-8 shooting 2-pointers.
By the fourth quarter, there was a sort of collective sigh of resignation from the Lakers' sellout crowd of 18,997 each time Stojakovic got the ball behind the arc. The fans went silent by the time the ball went through the hoop.
"The way we played tonight on the offensive end, with Chris Paul moving the ball and spacing the court, it looked easy," Stojakovic said. "Securing the defensive boards and running was really important for us.
"I got most of my shots in transition. Later on, they had to help on Chris playing pick-and-roll with David (West) and Tyson (Chandler), and somehow I was wide open. The guys were looking for me, particularly Chris."
Paul certainly was looking for him.
"The way he shot the ball tonight was unbelievable. When he's lights out like that, you've got to give him the ball," said Paul, who scored 19 points. "When you've got shooters like that and Tyson rolling to the rim, it makes my job so much easier.
"Our big guys are really setting screens well, and then it's all about spacing the court. When you have shooters like we have and teams don't guard them out there on the wing, what happened tonight will happen to you."
Kobe Bryant, who took only 20 shots for Los Angeles and scored 28 points, said Stojakovic and Paul were really on their game.
"Obviously, Chris Paul was making great penetration and Peja shot the ball extremely well," said Bryant, who had seven assists and six rebounds. "You don't want a guy like Peja to get going. It's a lesson learned.
"Chris Paul, he's a fantastic player. He's really something."
The Hornets went 14-of-25 on 3-pointers. West added 22 points as they ran their record to 4-0 to tie their best start, set last season.
Los Angeles' Ronny Turiaf had 15 points and seven rebounds, and Andrew Bynum had 13 rebounds.
Stojakovic's 3-point bonanza shattered the Hornets' record of eight, set by David Wesley in 2002. The former team mark for assists was 19 by Muggsy Bogues in 1989.
The NBA record for 3-pointers is 12 by Bryant in 2003, matched by Toronto's Donyell Marshall in 2005. The league assist mark is 30 by Scott Skiles with Orlando in 1990.
Stojakovic hit three consecutive 3-pointers to close out the third quarter and New Orleans opened an 89-80 lead. He scored 17 in the period, including going 5-of-7 from 3-point range.
The Lakers closed within four points twice, the second time at 93-89 with 7:47 remaining. But Rasual Butler hit a 3-pointer to build the lead to 7, and the Hornets pulled away in the closing minutes.
Bryant took as many shots in the third quarter, seven, as he had in the entire first half, making four of them and scoring 10 points.
Stojakovic's 10 were the most 3-pointers ever against the Lakers. Four players had seven against Los Angeles in the past, most recently by Vladimir Radmanovic -- now with the Lakers -- when he was Seattle in 2005.
Los Angeles was without Kwame Brown, who sat out the game with bursitis in his right heel. Brown, averaging 5.7 points and 7.3 rebounds this season, said he expects to be able to play on Friday when the Lakers host Minnesota.
Notes
Los Angeles F Lamar Odom, who has been recuperating from shoulder surgery, is slated to make his season debut on Friday. ... The average price of a Lakers season ticket is $89.24, an increase of 4.5 percent from last season and the highest in the NBA, according to Team Marketing Report's survey. The average ticket in the NBA is $48.83, and the Hornets, in their first season in New Orleans, charge a league-low $24.58.