Scott Cody in Dallas writes:

Bonzi Wells opens the Hornets scoring with a great baseline move. He needs to have HUGE game, if it's going to be a slugfest.

Pargo continues to keep the Hornets close, he just had a loose ball fall into his lap and he calmly knocked down his ninth and tenth points of the game. Despite all the bricks from the rest of his teammates, Hornets trail by just one 27-26. This has be demoralizing for the Mavs, who obviously came out with more energy and urgency.

Julian Wright just grabbed an airball from Bonzi, took one recovery step and dunked it to give the bees their first lead.

34-32 Hornets with 5:01 left in 2nd. The Mavs have gone extremely cold, they're actually shooting just 3-for-12 in the quarter.

The fear of a third foul is making Tyson reluctant to be a force in the paint and it's allowed Dallas to charge back to a 40-36 lead with 2:39 left in the half. His back-up, Hilton Armstrong has 3 fouls. Melvin Ely is not suited out for this game. Rasual Butler is. That move leaves the Bees thin at the center position. The Mavericks aren't that strong at that spot offensively, which explains why Byron Scott made the decision.

What started out as such a strong quarter, finished lousy for the Hornets. Dallas closed out teh second with a 15-6 run. At the half it's 47-40, not a bad spot to be in for the Hornets on the road. Not a good spot, either. Remember, though, they are third quarter team.

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