The Mavericks were supposed to take the fight to the Hornets. Instead, New Orleans threw the first punch. Tyson Chandler made a great block on Jerry Stackhouse. Then he ran the floor and caught an alley-oop pass from Chris Paul for a jam. Erick Dampier answered with a two-handed dunk. But David West started the game 6-for-9, giving the Hornets a 10-point lead at the end of the quarter.

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Mavs: Nowitzki 9

Hornets: West 12

Chris Paul took a seat early in the quarter, and the Mavs finally gained some traction. Brandon Bass followed Josh Howard's missed runner with a dunk. Howard's jumper got the Mavs back within nine. But Peja Stojakovic's 3-pointer off a Mavs' turnover hurt. When Paul returned with 6:19 left, the Hornets still led by 11. New Orleans finished the half shooting 61.5 percent.

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Mavs: Nowitzki 7

Hornets: Stojakovic 8

Even if the Mavs wanted to get physical, the officials wouldn't let them. Erick Dampier took a swipe at David West with his elbow after a rebound. Then on the other end, both were called for technical fouls after locking up. Peja Stojakovic hit two 3-pointers and Morris Peterson hit two more as the Hornets ran away with it. Three Hornets had at least 20 points through three quarters.

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Mavs: Bass, 13

Hornets: Stojakovic, Peterson, 8

When David West picked Dirk Nowitzki's pocket at the top of the key, Mavs fans knew it was over. Chris Paul got fouled on the other end, preventing a fast-break layup. But Hornets fans started to chant, "M-V-P!" Paul's spinning alley-oop pass to Tyson Chandler was MVP stuff. West's 3-pointer and Bonzi Wells' layup was more icing on the Hornets' cake as the Mavs stumbled to the finish line.

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Mavs: Terry 5

Hornets: Paul 12

The Mavericks followed through on their game plan to trap Chris Paul and force him to give up the ball, and it worked. Once. All the other times, the result was the same as Game 1. Paul blitzed them with his clever moves on the perimeter and going to the rim.

Mismatches don't come much bigger than this so far. For the second game, Paul mauled Kidd. It's to the point now that the Mavericks may have to try Jason Terry or Jason from Friday the 13th on Paul. Nothing else has worked.

Jason Kidd: 7 points, 8 assists, 0 FT made

Chris Paul: 32 points, 17 assists, 12 FT made

Eddie Sefko

Some eye-catching plays Tuesday. If you didn't catch them, here's what you missed:

Just reward: Jerry Stackhouse attacked the basket in the first three minutes of the game and was rejected by Tyson Chandler. The New Orleans center then raced the length of the court and took a lob pass from Chris Paul for a slam on the other end.

Nothing but net: Peja Stojakovic continued the Hornets' feeding frenzy in the third quarter. He hit a long jumper, then came back seconds later with a 3-point dagger to give New Orleans an 80-58 lead.

Take that: Chris Paul flashed open on the baseline in the final five minutes and was steamrolled by Erick Dampier. Paul landed flat on his back, but not before he buried the basket. He added the free throw after the timeout to push the lead to 21 points.

David Moore

.600: Hornets' shooting percentage in the second half (24-for-40)

7: Josh Howard's total field goals made in Games 1 and 2. He is 7-for-26 shooting

27, 4: Assists and turnovers by Chris Paul in the first two games

Brian Davis