Final
New Orleans held on to win 88-79. The Hornets never trailed and Houston tied the game only four times.

2:09 4th Quarter
Could this have been one of the defining moments of this game? Chris Paul drove the lane, but missed his shot. In traffic, Tyson Chandler tipped the ball in and gave an emphatic fist pump.

Hornets lead 79-74.

5:43 4th Quarter
Looks like the sellout crowd at the Arena is going to see a game that comes down to the wire.

Every time New Orleans gets a lead of at least 6, the Rockets come right back and make a mini-run that keeps the game within two possessions.

Both teams are still shooting below 44 percent for the game.

End 3rd Quarter
This one certainly isn't coming easy. And after a blowout loss on the road to Orlando on Thursday, the Hornets could have used an easy one.

But New Orleans is showing good resilience to come back from the past two losses and leads 66-64 going into the fourth.

Chris Paul is at 20 points, 8 assists; David West has 19 points; Tyson Chandler has 12 and 8 rebounds; and Rasual Butler has 10 points. All of a sudden, it appears the Hornets are playing a little better basketball, at least on the offensive side of things.

Yao Ming is still the only Rocket in double figures.

7:54 3rd Quarter
Here's something we didn't see out of the Hornets in the first half, and really in the past six quarters.

New Orleans came out of the gate in the second half with energy, playing high-paced basketball. Chris Paul, of course, led the charge.

Houston called a timeout, so New Orleans is doing something right with a 56-49 lead.

Halftime
The difference in this game right now is at the free throw line. New Orleans has made 13 while Houston has 10.

Both have made 16 shots. New Orleans has only three more rebounds than Houston. The Hornets have two more turnovers than the Rockets.

CP3 has 15 points and four assists and David West has 16 points. That's about it for the Hornets for guys playing well.

Yao Ming has 11 points and six rebounds for Houston, and that's about it for the Rockets. The rest of their points are spread out.

The most entertaining aspect of this game is either the guy at midcourt right now playing on a giant metal ring (he's actually pretty impressive, spinning inside the ring) or the video played on the big board of Air Hugo scaring people at the mall the other day, a la Houston Clutch.

2:07 2nd Quarter
Not much new to report in the past three minutes other than the Hornets haven't figured out how to stop the Rockets. And the Rockets haven't figured out how to slow down the Hornets.

Both teams are shooting much better now, both having moved into the 40-plus percent range. The Hornets have finally started getting to the free-throw line and are 10-for-10 currently.

5:09 2nd Quarter
New Orleans just can't figure out to break this one open. The offense has begun to make some shots, but now the defense is showing holes.

The backside help is failing firstly and the defense isn't rotating off the ball well.

In the NBA's plus-minus system, only three Hornets are in positive territory. That means they're not playing well.

This team looks a little haggard right now.

8:36 2nd Quarter
Chris Paul is off the floor. And so, too, is Sean Marks. The big guy from New Zealand hasn't given the Hornets very much tonight, other than turnovers and bad 3-point shots.

The defense is holding up thus far, but as Scott Cody said, the offense needs to start making some shots.The Hornets are 10-of-27 from the floor right now, a meager 37 percent. What's helping is that the Rockets are 33 percent.

End 1st Quarter
Chris Paul is working on an early double-double. He already has 11 points and 4 assists, and you better believe he'll get to 10 assists.

So, what sayeth Scott Cody, whose family might be some of the best bakers and beef jerky makers this side of the Rio Grande:

"Their so inept without Peja. It's the fifth game without Peja and no one can make a shot. they can't find a consistent shot maker.

They're playing good defense. but the same thing is happening that has happened against good teams. They're not making shots. They've got to find somebody."

2:08 1st Quarter
Chris Paul already has five attempted shots and we're not out of the first quarter. It makes you wonder if he looked at Thursday's game and decided he needed to step it up earlier than normal.

What else?

Houston doesn't have a turnover and is only down by two rebounds to New Orleans. The Hornets need to work on that by driving the lane and getting to the basket more. They've settled for outside jumpers.

Also, the guy who just made the 7-Up shootout did not take advantage of common sense. He was heaving mid-court shots with one hand instead of throwing from the chest.

That's not going to work. Ever watched Chris Paul or Morris Peterson shoot from the halfcourt circle? They're not heaving with one hand.

4:44 1st Quarter
Rasual Butler might want to invest in a Stairmaster. He looks winded here in the first quarter, which seems to be going much quicker than I can remember a first quarter going.

New Orleans leads 13-9 and Tyson Chandler seems to be bottling up Yao Ming fairly well.

Chris Paul is moving the ball around well. And more importantly, the Hornets appear to be moving off the ball well tonight.

This is a good start coming off of the Christmas Day loss to Orlando.

Pregame
First off, Peja Stojakovic is still out with back problems. But the new name to the list of wounded is Hilton Armstrong, who has a sprained wrist.

The good news is Antonio Daniels should be back from his knee troubles.

Starting Lineups
Hornets: G Devin Brown, F Rasual Butler, C Tyson Chandler, G Chris Paul, F David West.
Rockets: G Rafer Alston, F Shane Battier, G Tracy McGrady, F Luis Scola, C Yao Ming.

Notes
**Chris Paul will have to start a new steals streak. His record-setting streak ended at 108 games Thursday in a loss to Orlando.

**Houston has won four of its past five and eight of the past 11 games it has played.

**The Rockets have the most road wins of any Western Conference team with 10.

**New Orleans is 10-15 against Houston at home.

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