Tyson Chandler's two-handed dunk gave the Hornets a 7-5 lead at the 8:47 mark of the quarter. Chris Paul recorded his fourth assist of the night with an alley-oop pass to Chandler, who slammed it home for his sixth point with 5:22 on the clock. The Mavericks trimmed a double-digit deficit to six by hitting five of their last six shots.

TOP SCORERS

Mavs: Howard 8

Hornets: West 9

Jerry Stackhouse made a layup and was fouled by Jannero Pargo with 8:46 in the quarter. Stackhouse's ensuing free throw tied the score at 32. The Hornets' lead, however, went back to double digits (49-37) later in the quarter with a basket-and-1 by David West with 2:58 remaining. Dallas' last field goal of the quarter came at the 5:50 mark on a Stackhouse jumper.

TOP SCORERS

Mavs: Stackhouse 7

Hornets: Pargo 9

Jason Terry opened the quarter with back-to-back 3-pointers, cutting the Hornets' 15-point lead to nine. The Mavericks chopped the lead to five following two Terry free throws, but David West scored and was fouled with 31 seconds remaining. West and Chris Paul scored 14 of the Hornets' 17 third-quarter points.

TOP SCORERS

Mavs: Terry 10

Hornets: West 9

The Hornets, aided by Chris Paul and Jannero Pargo, went on a 13-4 run in the first five minutes of the quarter. New Orleans led by as many 17 in the quarter, but the Mavericks, led by Devean George, rallied late with big 3-point shots. Peja Stojakovic capitalized on a Paul offensive rebound, nailing two free throws with 5.7 seconds left to ice the game. Jerry Stackhouse was ejected after picking up his second technical foul with 1:47 left.

TOP SCORERS

Mavs: George 11

Hornets: Paul 11

It was Mr. Triple-Double getting outdone by Chris Paul. Jason Kidd has 100 triple-doubles in his career, but Paul capped a tremendous first round with one of his own. It was a demolition for the series. Kidd was older and slower; Paul showed why he's the future at point guard.

It wasn't just an edge. It was a chasm. The only thing Paul did wrong was miss a couple of free throws. Otherwise, he was flawless. Kidd had his moments, but there just weren't enough of them.

Jason Kidd: 14 points, 9 assists, 0 turnovers

Chris Paul: 24 points, 15 assists, 0 turnovers

Eddie Sefko

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

Stack attack: Jerry Stackhouse ran the court and banked in a shot as he was thrown down by Jannero Pargo. The free throw capped a three-point play, completing an 11-point comeback as the Mavericks tied the score in the second quarter.

Three to the heart: Peja Stojakovic hurt the Mavericks with well-timed 3-point daggers all series. He did it again late in the first half. His 3-pointer with 1:34 left pushed the Hornets' mushrooming lead to 52-39.

A timely tip: The Mavericks trailed by three points in the final eight seconds when Chris Paul missed a 15-foot jumper. But Dallas never got a shot to tie because Tyson Chandler tipped the ball outside to a teammate. The Mavericks were forced to foul, Stojakovic hit two free throws with 5.7 seconds left and the margin was secure.

David Moore

0: Points, rebounds, blocked shots and free throw attempts for Erick Dampier, who played only eight minutes.

7: First-quarter points for Jason Kidd, who finished with three points in Game 4. He had 14 for the game.

11: Assists in the first half by the Hornets' Chris Paul. He finished with 15 and zero turnovers.

Damon L. Sayles