Hornets Able to Cough Up a Win

↵After getting slaughtered in two games in Denver, the Hornets dominated the second half of Game 3, holding a multi-possession lead throughout. Well, throughout ... until the final minute. A series of ridiculously bad decisions by James Posey and Peja Stojakovic helped the Nuggets slip back to within one point in the final minute. Peja took a contested, premature three as the Nuggets swarmed Chris Paul; after Denver cut it to one, Posey made an awful pass that had no chance of getting to Paul ... because, erm, Carmelo Anthony stood between Posey and Peja.
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↵But ‘Melo lost the ball in traffic and had to take a bad jumper with time running out, and Posey got a tough rebound and ended it at the line for a N.O. win. From up 10 with less than three minutes to go, it’s more a relief than triumph for New Orleans. Denver really looks like the better team at every turn, the complementary players haven’t helped the shackled Paul nearly enough, and (surprisingly) the Nuggets have been far more physical. (Chauncey Billups knocked Rasual Butler into 1973 on a fastbreak in the closing minutes. A brutal foul that’d start a fist fight in some cities.)
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↵The series goes to 2-1. All wins count the same in the ledger, but New Orleans shouldn’t feel terribly positive at this result.↵