West inspires Hornets to victory

David West scored a career playoff-high 30 points as the New Orleans Hornets posted a resounding 101-82 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in Game One of their Western Conference semi-final series on Saturday.

Chris Paul had 17 points and 13 assists and Peja Stojakovic added 22 points for the Hornets, who outscored the Spurs 56-33 in the second half to secure the victory.

San Antonio had a time guarding West, who shot 13-of-23 from the field - peppering the Spurs' defence with mid-range jumpers - and added nine rebounds.

While he did not guard him directly, West badly outplayed Spurs superstar Tim Duncan, who scored a career playoff-low of five points.

But the Hornets needed West's outstanding play because it was not a vintage performance from Paul, who battled through foul trouble all night after picking up his third infraction with 1:27 left before half-time.

A front-runner for the league Most Valuable Player Award, Paul did pick up his play in the fourth quarter with some dazzling open-court play.

In the span of five possessions in the final three minutes, Paul nailed two tough jumpers, fed West for a slam on the break and threw down a jam of his own to make it 101-82 with 1:11 left.

The boisterous yellow-clad crowd gave Paul a standing ovation after he used a trick dribble and a spin move on his way to the basket to draw a foul in the final sequence.

Spurs swingman Bruce Bowen, nailed five three-pointers in the first half to give San Antonio a 49-45 lead at half-time.

Emotions ran high in the third quarter after Bowen bumped Paul during a dead ball, causing the teams to jaw back and forth while officials separated them near mid-court.

Bowen, who has a reputation as a dirty player and an instigator, may have been retaliating after a flagrant foul by Hornets reserve Bonzi Wells, who pulled Bowen down while the veteran swingman was attempting a lay-up in the second quarter.

Bowen did not make his mark on the game after half-time, going scoreless in the final two periods.

His absence and West's play sparked a dominant second half for the Hornets.

Tony Parker scored 23 points and Manu Ginobili had 19, seven assists and six rebounds for San Antonio, who will try to bounce back in Game Two on Monday.

Chauncey Billups had 19 points and seven assists as the Detroit Pistons strolled to a 91-72 victory over a subdued Orlando Magic side on Saturday in Game One of their Eastern Conference semi-final series.

Richard Hamilton scored 17 points for the second-seeded Pistons, who have won eight straight post-season games against the Magic and swept Orlando in last season's opening round.

Holding a seven-point lead after the third quarter, Detroit put the finishing touches on the game by outscoring Orlando 26-15 in the final period.

Detroit's All-Star backcourt of Billups and Hamilton was decisively better than Orlando's tandem of Jameer Nelson and Maurice Evans with the Magic duo scoring only 11 points on 5-of-11 shooting.

Rashard Lewis scored 18 points for the Magic, who are making their first appearance in the Eastern Conference semi-finals since a trip to the conference finals in 1996.