Tim Duncan's 22 points and 15 rebounds carried the defending champion San Antonio Spurs to a 100-80 rout of the New Orleans Hornets on Sunday to level their Western Conference semi-finals series.
An impressive 21-6 surge to start the second quarter inspired San Antonio, who levelled the series at 2-2 heading into a pivotal Game Five in the "Big Easy" on Tuesday.
Tony Parker had 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the Spurs, who will try to become just the second team this post-season to record a road win in the conference semi-finals.
The Spurs outscored the Hornets 61-39 in the second and third quarters as the defending champions led by as many as 25 points at one stage and were never challenged in the second half.
With New Orleans trailing 85-61 at the start the fourth quarter, Hornets coach Byron Scott decided to bench all five starters which led to Spurs coach Gregg Popovich to quickly pull Duncan, who joined Parker on the bench for the rest of the game.
Chris Paul carried the load with 23 points for the Hornets, who had just two starters in double figures.
New Orleans' best quarter was the first as Paul scored eight points en route to a 24-22 deficit heading into the second.
but Manu Ginobili and Ime Udoka hit back-to-back three-pointers which ignited the Spurs to their pivotal burst in which they connected on nine-of-11 shots from the field.
After Parker sank an 18-footer with 5:27 left in the first half, San Antonio built a 45-28 lead, leaving the Hornets with no answers as the Spurs scored 16 of their 31 second quarter points in the paint.
After the Spurs intentionally fouled Tyson Chandler, who hit both free throws, Duncan converted on a strong three-point play over David West, who struggled much of the night.
But Paul raced down court for a lay-up to make it a 13-point deficit at the break.