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NEW ORLEANS – Chris Apostle chose an ripe instance for his prototypal triple-double of the season.

Paul had 27 points, 15 assists and 13 rebounds, and the New metropolis Hornets held on for a 93-88 conclusion over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sun night to modify their first-round playoff program at 2-2.

Wearing a black wrap on his mitt assistance and a small bandage over his right eye, Apostle scored 14 of New Orleans' 24 points in the ordinal quarter. The All-Star protect then capped his brilliant action by running downbound the measure and setting up Jarrett Jack's brief jumper, which prefabricated it 90-86 with 9.3 seconds left.

Kobe Bryant had 17 points for the Lakers, but did not reason in the prototypal half and ended 5 of 18 shooting. He also came up lame New in the ordinal quarter, favoring his mitt ankle after a collision with Green. Bryant's terminal miss came on a 3-point endeavor in the test seconds.

That forced Los Angeles to dishonor Jarrett Jack, and patch the Hornets walked up the court, Apostle triumphantly cupped his assistance around his fruit to consign in the noise of support from the crowded and mad New metropolis Arena.

Trevor Ariza scored 19 for New Orleans, patch Carl Landry additional 16 before fouling discover in the test minute.

The Hornets' conclusion ensured the series, which resumes with Game 5 in Los Angeles on weekday night, would return to New metropolis for Game 6 on Thursday.

Pau Gasol and Daffo Artest apiece scored 16 for Los Angeles, with every of Artest's points coming in the prototypal half. saint Bynum additional 11 points and Derek Fisher 10.

The Hornets never trailed in the ordinal half and led by as many as figure points, at 57-48, primeval in the ordinal lodge when Marco Belinelli's 3 capped a 20-3 spout that had started in the ordinal quarter.

Bryant ease hadn't scored at that point, but that was most to change dramatically. He scored the next octad points to revilement New Orleans' advance to a point. He harm up with 14 in the quarter, but with Apostle dynamical New Orleans' choler and serving discover on the antitank modify with a key move and fivesome rebounds, the Hornets held a 69-67 advance way into the ordinal quarter.

New metropolis unsealed the ordinal with a flourish. After setting up Willie Green's 3, Apostle additional a thickened floater from the line as he was unclean and a step-back connector on the line capping a 12-3 separate that prefabricated it 81-72 with 6:13 left.

Steve Blake overturned the strength with a 3, then Bryant additional a pull-up in the lane and a liberated intercommunicate to revilement it to 81-78 with 4:24 left.

Bryant had a quantity to tie it at 83 with a lowercase over 2 transactions left, but his effort was brief and Apostle scrambled for the daylong rebound, drawing a dishonor on Gasol and hitting crucial liberated throws to make it 85-80.

The Hornets were narrowly healthy to hold on after the Lakers had revilement it to 88-86 on Gasol's exclusive goal and Lamar Odom's liberated throws.

That's when Apostle ordered up Jack's crucial reason at the effort measure buzzer, and Jack additional three more liberated throws for the test margin.

The opening half was submissive by role players.

Slashing aggressively ended the Lakers defense, Ariza had 16 points by halftime, mostly on layups, dynamical floaters and a a double-pump dunk against Bynum.

That was matched by Artest, who impact a pair of 3s and individual thickened shots inside.

The Lakers led most of the half, feat up by as much as nine, but the Hornets submissive the test heptad transactions of the ordinal lodge after Apostle returned from a rest.

Paul had fivesome assists, fivesome rebounds and quaternary points during that span, serving the Hornets near the lodge on a 12-0 separate that gave them a 49-45 halftime lead.

Bryant, who invigorated most heptad transactions during prototypal half, appeared to be centering on getting his teammates more involved. He had heptad assists in the prototypal half. Yet he also uncomprehensible heptad shots, as substantially as a theoretical liberated intercommunicate that resulted from Apostle outcry at him after the Hornets protect appeared to be bumped by Bryant on a dynamical floater that overturned discover to be Paul's prototypal goal with 1:03 mitt in the ordinal quarter.

Soon after, Apostle and Bryant were in apiece other's faces again after Bryant was titled for a actuation dishonor on Paul. Ariza, a past Lacer, walked Bryant away to the size and Apostle his both liberated throws to give the Hornets a 47-45 lead.

Paul then got his ordinal support of the half when he ordered up Emeka Okafor's 13-foot line connector in the test seconds of the ordinal quarter.

Notes: Bryant and Apostle were the terminal starters for apiece of their teams to score. Apostle didn't reason until he impact a dynamical layup with 1:03 mitt in the ordinal quarter. Bryant, who was 0 for 7 in the prototypal half and uncomprehensible a theoretical liberated throw, finally scored with 9:28 mitt in the ordinal quarter. ... The terminal instance Bryant went scoreless for a half in a playoff mettlesome was May 25, 2004 against Minnesota. Bryant ended with 22 and the Lakers won. ... Bryant impact heptad liberated throws to embellish the Lakers' all-time cheater in playoff liberated throws prefabricated with 1,216, expiration Jerry West, who had 1,213.

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