Hornets win division, No. 2 seed in NBA West

BEIJING, April 16 (Xinhuanet) -- David West scored 32 points and Chris Paul had 12 during a decisive run in the third quarter as the Hornets beat the Los Angeles Clippers 114-92 on Tuesday night. New Orleans will have the No. 2 seed in the playoffs in the rugged Western Conference after the Los Angeles Lakers won later Tuesday night.

Three seasons after going 18-64, the Hornets clinched the rugged Southwest division, which has four 50-win teams.

"A lot of people had us not even getting in the playoffs," New Orleans center Tyson Chandler said. "I don't think any of us believed that. We all believed that we're one of the better teams in the conference. If you win this division it says a lot about the team because this is the best division in basketball."

This was their most significant victory in New Orleans, where they moved for the 2002-03 season and played for three years before Hurricane Katrina forced them to Oklahoma City for all but 10 games during the previous two seasons.

"It's a big step for us," West said. "We just talked about wanting to improve and being one of the elite teams, and I think we kind of validated ourselves with the ability to come into a tough season and win the toughest division in basketball."

Paul finished with 22 points and 12 assists, while Chandler added 11 points and 11 rebounds. Rookie Julian Wright scored all 14 of his points in the fourth quarter, including a thunderous dunk.

Rookie Al Thornton led the Clippers with 26 points. Corey Maggette contributed 13 off the bench.

(Agencies)