Thornton, Collison lead way in Paul's return as Hornets deny Mavs

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Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS -- Chris Paul played for the first time in 25 games, and Marcus Thornton scored 28 points to help the Hornets to a 115-99 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night.

Returning from a left knee injury, Paul started but was limited to 21 minutes and had 11 points. He helped New Orleans pull away in the fourth quarter, but rookie Darren Collison ran the floor when the Hornets had a remarkable run of 23 straight points from late in the second quarter until early in the third to take a lead they would not relinquish.
David West had 25 points and 10 assists, Morris Peterson had a season-high 20 points and Collison scored 16 for the Hornets.
Jason Terry scored 24 for Dallas, which squandered a 16-point first-quarter lead.
After shooting only 32 percent in the first quarter (7 of 22), the Hornets went 38 of 61 (62 percent) from the field during the rest of the game.
The Hornets led 60-45 after their 23-0 run. The closest Dallas got after that was when Jason Terry hit a 3 to make it 73-66 with 3:06 to go in the third period.
Peterson responded with a 3, and soon after, West hit a couple of jumpers and had a steal to set up Collison's fast-break dunk to put the Hornets up 82-70 heading into the fourth quarter.
Darius Songaila opened the fourth quarter with a jumper from the top of the key and Paul scored his first points on a baseline fade with 11:05 remaining in the game. Paul later added three 3-pointers as the Hornets built a lead as large as 21.
Dallas still finished shooting 52 percent (42 of 81), but was hurt by porous defense and 20 turnovers, which the Hornets converted into 35 points. Dirk Nowitzki scored 16 points for the Mavericks, while Shawn Marion added 14 and Caron Butler 12.
Paul's return energized the crowd during pregame introductions, but the Hornets struggled out of the gate.
Marion's steal and fast-break dunk capped an early 17-2 run that staked Dallas to a 19-5 lead. Dallas shot 67 percent (14 of 21) in the first quarter, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range, and the first of Terry's two 3s in the quarter stretched the Mavericks' lead 27-11. His second 3 made it 32-16.
The Hornets responded with a stunning second quarter, with Collison, who had eight assists, the most by a Hornets reserve this season.
An 11-2 run early in the second quarter, capped by West's jump hook over Nowitzki, got the Hornets back in it at 36-30. Dallas built its lead back to 11 on Butler's jumper, which made it 43-32. That's when New Orleans took over, outscoring the Mavs 22-2 during the rest of the period to vault into the lead.
Peterson, who had 14 points in the first half, started the run with a layup and a 3 from the corner. After Rodrigue Beaubois hit a tough layup for Dallas, West came back with six straight points on a reverse layup and two jumpers. Collison followed with a jumper and a putback of Thornton's fast-break miss. Songaila scored on a heady bounce pass from James Posey on an inbound play. Then Thornton hit a fast-break layup to cap a 15-0 Hornets run to close the period, giving New Orleans a 52-45 halftime lead.
The Hornets then opened the second half on an 8-0 run highlighted by Thornton's two 3-pointers.
Game notes
Posey was called for a flagrant foul on Beaubois in the final second of regulation as Beaubois tried to drive in for a meaningless layup. ... The Mavericks have not won in New Orleans since December 2006. ... The Hornets are 22-17 this season when Chris Paul plays. ... Dallas and New Orleans split their season series 2-2. ... Dallas returns to action at home Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Clippers.
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