Jacque Vaughn’s driving layup got the Spurs as close as 76-71 early in the period, but the Hornets, despite being in the playoffs for the first time in four years, were not rattled.

They pushed the lead back up to double digits before turning it into a blowout during the last 5 minutes, with Paul scoring seemingly at will.

“We’ve been in that position where everyone is kind of waiting for the wheels to fall off of this thing, feeling like we are overachieving,” West said. “But we’re a hungry group of guys, we’re going to go out and compete.”

The Hornets scored the first eight points of the game, with Stojakovic and Morris Peterson each hitting 3s, and San Antonio didn’t have a point until Parker’s free throws with 7:36 left in the first quarter.

It didn’t take long for the San Antonio to settle down, however, and they didn’t need much help from Parker or Duncan. Ginobili hit his first four shots, including three 3s, and Bowen hit three 3s of his own as the Spurs stormed back to take a 27-23 lead at the end of the first quarter.

New Orleans fought back to take a 35-34 lead on Chandler’s alley-oop dunk of Paul’s lob, but Bowen, who minutes earlier had been face down on the floor with his hands over his face after apparently getting poked in the eye on foul by Wells, hit two more 3s, one while being fouled.

Finley had another 3 during a 10-0 run that put San Antonio up 44-35. The Spurs finished the first half 9-for-17 on 3s, and with a 49-45 lead.

Notes: The game was delayed 19 minutes between the first and second quarters because of a mess on the floor caused by fire extinguishers used after a mascot’s stunt. Super Hugo had used a trampoline to soar through a ring of fire before dunking a basketball. Workers then struggled to put the fire out, leaving a white residue all over the floor. The halftime show also was canceled so the floor could be cleaned again.

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