Mavs back in it with Game 3 win

STILL ALIVE - New Orleans Hornets guard Jannero Pargo (2) passes the ball as Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki defends in the second half of Game 3 in a first-round NBA playoff basketball series, in Dallas on Friday. The Mavericks won 97-87. The Hornets lead the series 2-1. Game 4 is tonight at 8:30, also in Dallas.

DALLAS (AP) - Chris Paul raced down the court, beating most of the Dallas Mavericks. He put on the brakes with a jump stop in the lane and floated up a jumper that was supposed to get the New Orleans Hornets within a few baskets of the lead.

The ball went in all right. And then it came out.

Things sure were different now that he and the Hornets were on the road - and the Mavs were at home.

Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks finally made the Hornets look like playoff novices, pestering Paul and David West to go a combined 6-for-30 well into the fourth quarter on the way to a 97-87 victory in Game 3 that puts Dallas right back into this series.

"I think we got a lot of shots we wanted," Paul said. "We just missed them."

Nowitzki had 32 points, 19 rebounds and six assists to pull the Mavericks within 2-1. Game 4 is Sunday night in Dallas, where the Hornets haven't won since January 1998.

"We wanted to make sure we made it a series and win this first one," Nowitzki said. "They're going to keep coming. It's going to take the same effort, the same intensity."

And it will take it again tonight in Game 4 - New Orleans still leads the series, 2 games to 1, and Dallas can tie things up tonight with another victory. Tipoff is at 8:30 p.m.

Paul was aiming to end New Orleans' problems in Dallas, the way he's changed everything else this series, becoming the first player ever to have at least 30 points and 10 assists in his first two playoff games. But with Jason Terry covering him instead of Jason Kidd, he never came close to making it three straight, finishing with 16 points on 4- of-18 shooting. He still had 10 assists.

"Jet had a lot of energy. It takes lot energy to guard Paul," coach Avery Johnson said.

West, a fellow All-Star, was 3- of-16 through three quarters. He wound up 6-of-20, scoring 14 points. His late surge helped New Orleans cut a 17-point deficit to 90-83 with 2 minutes left, but the Hornets couldn't close the gap.

"We can't have the type of stretches I had to start the game off," West said. "That really put us in a hole."

New Orleans' only consistent scorer was Jannero Pargo, who had 30 points, his most of the season and most ever in a playoff game.

Terry replaced Jerry Stackhouse in the starting lineup and responded with 22 points, including a 3-pointer with 1:39 left to help hold off the Hornets' final surge.

He had six assists but his biggest contribution was his defense on Paul. The way he kept cutting off Paul's first step early, the speedster seemed to lose his will to drive the lane, looking content running the offense from the 3-point line.

The Mavericks said they would be better simply by being home and they were right. They led by 11 points in the first quarter and were up by seven at halftime. Then came a third quarter that might get NBA conspiracy theorists going.

Dallas took 22 free throws in the period, compared to just seven for New Orleans. Yes, the Mavericks were going to the rim a lot more aggressively. They also were aided by getting into the bonus just 3:17 into the quarter.

"They shot more in one quarter than we did for the game," Paul said - accurately. The Hornets took only 13 free throws, making them all. Dallas made 15 in the third quarter alone.

The game, and series, nearly turned midway through the third quarter. With Dallas up 62-54, Nowitzki was conked from behind by Tyson Chandler, then run into by Pargo. He was sprawled on the court, the crowd silenced. But he got up and hit four straight free throws, then a jumper.

Josh Howard scored 18 points for Dallas, but was only 5-of-16. His performance drew extra scrutiny because hours before tipoff he went on local radio and admitted to using marijuana in the offseason.

Kidd had eight points, 11 rebounds and five assists. Peja Stojakovic had 13 points and 10 rebounds for New Orleans, which shot just 38 percent.

Dallas fans heard for days that they could make a difference for their team, and it sure looked like it at the start. Pumped up by the pregame pyrotechnics, the crowd remained loud as the Mavs went on an early 10-0 run, leading by 11 after just a few minutes.