2:37 4th Quarter
Well, here we come. The final two and a half minutes. I think an 11-point deficit is too much for the Hornets to overcome.

Because while they're hitting some more shots, they're still not coming up with stops on the other end on every possession.

8:11 4th Quarter
Los Angeles still leads the Hornets by double digits and the way this is going, it'll stay that way. It's 87-67 right now.

New Orleans has no semblance of offense tonight and the defense is getting abused by the trees on the inside for the Lakers.

End 3rd
Well, it doesn't appear the Hornets will hold another opponent below 95 points. It also appears that New Orleans will lose its first home game since Nov. 19 when it last lost at home.

The Lakers are imposing their will on this entire game.

New Orleans has three technical fouls, is 14-of-22 from the free-throw line and is being outrebounded 31-24, including 10-6 on the offensive boards.

2:49 3rd Quarter
Not much different than two minutes ago. But New Orleans is on a 6-0 run here. Is it going to be extended?

We'll see. There's better movement on the offensive end and New Orleans has picked up a few stops here.

5:01 3rd Quarter
David West still hasn't gotten going, Chris Paul has four fouls and Tyson Chandler seems to be more interested in pleading his case to the officials than playing on.

And all this time, the Lakers continue to to hit shots, play defense and rebound.

My keys to the rest of this game - CP3 needs to get mad and go off and West needs to get confident in his shots and start shooting the ball.

Also, there's no movement on the offense for the Hornets. That needs to change.

Halftime
So, here's how you lose a home crowd that is revved up and ready to go. You give up a 27-10 run to end the second quarter. New Orleans tied the game at 27-27 with nearly 10 minutes to play. And then LA closed out with good defense and tons of offense.

Not good and that's why LA leads 56-37 at halftime.

James Posey and Morris Peterson both have three fouls.Chris Paul has only 7 points. And David West is 1-of-7 from the floor for a total of 5 points.

Meanwhile, Pau Gasol has 16 points, the Lakers are up 22-14 in rebounds and there's no semblance of defense for the Hornets, who are allowing the Lakers to shoot 52.5 percent from the floor.

New Orleans is going to need to step up the defense first and foremost. You can't come back if the other team continues to score. Nearly as important - and I know this is ridiculously obvious here - but the Hornets need to find a way to get the ball in the hoop. They're shooting a meager 37.5 percent. And New Orleans needs to pick up the energy on offense, where three first-half offensive rebounds won't cut it.

The energy in New Orleans Arena is no longer here. This is much like the first meeting between these two teams, when LA led by 21 at halftime.
2:56 2nd Quarter
Story of this game so far - New Orleans' David West can't get going and the Hornets have no outside shooting. And when there's no outside shooting, the Hornets' offense has a hard time getting going.

There's little movement on offense and the Lakers are emphatically making just about everything, including some Showtime dunks.

West has 5 points on 1-of-6 shooting and New Orleans is 2-of-8 from the outside without any made 3's in the second quarter.

7:09 2nd Quarter
Well, so much for a New Orleans run for momentum. Los Angeles, lasts years Western Conference representative in the NBA Finals, stayed steady during the Hornet's latest run and countered with one of its own.

Lakers went on a 9-1 run and lead 36-28. Byron Scott was forced to take a timeout.

New Orleans is shooting 35.7 percent. Not good. It also is getting outrebounded 19-11. You're not going to win too many games down by eight rebounds this early.

10:37 2nd Quarter
New Orleans is on an 8-0 run that put the team back up by two.

Morris Peterson has played a key role in the run, assisting and making baskets and being a calm presence on the floor.

I'll say this, for the past two weeks, New Orleans' second unit has played much, much, much better basketball. I think Byron Scott has found the guys who will not lose a lead and will keep the team in games when called upon.

End 1st Quarter
Well, New Orleans trails by four heading into the second quarter, which is better than the last time these two teams played. The Hornets were down by 11 that night.

Pau Gasol is a Hornet-killer right now. He's having his way on the inside. The Hornets need to find a way to stop him.

And New Orleans needs to do a better job of taking care of the ball. Of the five Hornets' turnovers, I'd say all five could have been avoided by being smarter with the ball.

As for Chris Paul, he ended the first quarter with five steals. The Lakers turned the ball over eight times. Not bad.

2:00 1st Quarter
New Orleans is down by 3 after Sasha Vujacic made a 3-pointer. But the Hornets are playing well on defense mostly. The only problem is that, the past few possessions, the Hornets haven't done well on the defensive board.

David West is 1-for-4 while Rasual Butler is 3-for-6. Chris Paul has 3 points, 3 assists, 4 steals and 2 turnovers.

4:41
New Orleans trails 14-12 at the first timeout, but that's because LA is making shots and New Orleans isn't. David West, specifically. He's ice cold.

But Chris Paul is playing plenty amazing. he has great anticipation and on one steal in particular, he took the pass, dribbled behind his back and led a 4-to-1 break for New Orleans. He has four steals already.

Meanwhile, Andrew Bynum and Kobe Bryant both have two fouls midway through the first quarter.

One last thing. There is a definite playoff atmosphere here tonight. The fans are into the game, even though there are tons of open seats left.

Pregame
Starting lineups -
Lakers:F Luke Walton; F Pau Gasol; C Andrew Bynrum; G Kobe Bryant; G Derek Fisher

Hornets: F Rasual Butler; F David West; C Tyson Chandler; G Devin Brown; G Chris Paul.

Notes:
*Peja Stojakovic is out still with back problems and Antonio Daniels will miss with a sore knee.

*The Hornets are behind the Lakers in the Western Conference and have the best record over the past 10 games of any team in the conference at 8-2.

*New Orleans is 6-0 in the past six home games.

*New Orleans' past eight opponents have all scored 95 or fewer points.

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