West Inspires Hornets Against Bucks

The New Orleans Hornets are rolling. The Milwaukee Bucks are sputtering  and growing  increasingly frustrated.

David West made 10-of-12 shots and scored a season-high 25 points, and New Orleans  remained unbeaten with an 87-81 victory over Milwaukee on Saturday night.

Chris Paul and Marco Belinelli each added 14 for the Hornets, who at 6-0 are off to  their best start in franchise history. They entered play under rookie coach Monty  Williams as one of only three undefeated teams in the NBA after beating the Miami  Heat on Friday.

West said:“I knew we may be a step slow because we had a tough game last night, but  we responded. Guys made big plays down the stretch.”

Andrew Bogut had 19 points and 14 rebounds in his return to the lineup for Milwaukee  after missing Friday night’s game against the Indiana Pacers with a migraine. John  Salmons added 14 points for the Bucks, who dropped to 2-5.

Brandon Jennings, who had 12 points for Milwaukee, said he can’t pinpoint the cause  of the early problems and used a couple of expletives in summing up his team’s play  to date.

“We just need to go out there and play basketball,” Jennings said. “Anybody can talk  in the locker room.” While Milwaukee looked sluggish for most of the first three  quarters, there was no letdown for the Hornets after their 96-93 victory over the  Heat on Friday. They led 41-35 at halftime despite 13 first-half turnovers after  Belinelli sank a 64-foot, three-quarter court shot at the halftime buzzer.

West scored 10 points in the third quarter, and the Hornets led by as many as 13  points in the period. They led 65-54 after three, but Milwaukee used an 11-2 run to  cut it to 67-65 on Jennings’ 3-pointer.

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