Nuggets 97, Hornets 93

Chris Paul (left) led the Hornets with 26 points and 10 rebounds, Speedy Claxton scored 14 and J.R. Smith finished with 10 points.

The Hornets rallied from a 26-point deficit in the first half, had a chance to tie after getting the ball out of bounds with 7.8 seconds left, but Denver’s DerMarr Johnson blocked J.R. Smith's 3-pointer from the left wing.

The Nuggets capitalized on a20-3 run in the second quarter and the Hornets, playing in Oklahoma City for the first time, would never recover.

``We wanted to impress the crowd so much. The city has done so much for us and welcomed us right in, and we just wanted to give them a good show and show them that we're going to play for them,'' New Orleans guard Chris Paul said. ``I think guys just had a little bit of jitters.''