Hornets end Mav's season with 99-94 Game 5 win

BEIJING, April 30 (Xinhuanet) -- Big day in New Orleans Tuesday. Hornet coach Bryon Scott was named NBA coach of the year and Chris Paul played like an MVP, scoring 24 points while pulling down 11 boards as New Orleans sent Dallas packing with a 99-94 Game 5 victory that put an end to the Mav's season.

"That coach of the year award ... it wasn't a fluke," Paul said. "It's the frame of mind he puts us in. He gives us that ultimate confidence and he lets us play."

David West added 25 points for New Orleans and Jannero Pargo had 17, while Tyson Chandler had 10 points and 14 rebounds.

Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 22 points and 13 rebounds, and Devean George added 11 points in the fourth quarter as Dallas nearly pulled off an improbable comeback. The Mavs cut a 17-point deficit to three in the final seven minutes before Peja Stojakovic hit a pair of free throws to seal it with 5.7 seconds left.

Tempers flared near the end, and Jerry Stackhouse was ejected for a second technical foul with 1:47 left after slapping the ball out of Paul's hands during a stoppage in play, then getting in a face-to-face standoff with West.

Dallas must now decide what to do after its blockbuster trade for Jason Kidd yielded only a noncompetitive first-round playoff exit. That could include deciding whether to retain coach Avery Johnson, who's never won fewer than 51 games in any of his three full regular seasons but whose squads have had two straight first-round playoff losses since losing to Miami in the finals three seasons ago.

Kidd finished with 14 points and nine assists, while Jason Terry had 13 points and Josh Howard 12 for the Mavericks. Stackhouse had 11 points.

(Agencies)