Hornets 102, Spurs 84 | Chris Paul scores 30, adds 12 assists

NEW ORLEANS — Chris Paul's surgical drive past the San Antonio defense ended with a high, razzle-dazzle dribble and a soft, floating shot off the glass as a packed crowd broke into a thunderous frenzy.

"These are some of the best moments, I think, of my life, that we're experiencing right now," Paul said. "We're just riding a wave."

It's a wave that wiped out the Dallas Mavericks and is now crashing hard on the defending champion Spurs.

Paul had 30 points and 12 assists, leading the New Orleans Hornets to a 102-84 victory Monday night and a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven, second-round series.

Peja Stojakovic made five three-pointers and scored 25 points for the Hornets, who've won both games by wide margins in becoming the first team to put San Antonio in an 0-2 playoff hole since 2001, when the Spurs were swept by the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals.

"We're definitely a little shocked," Spurs forward Kurt Thomas said. "You can't take anything away from them. They are playing extremely well. If one person's not going, someone else is stepping up."

Game 3 is Thursday in San Antonio.

After allowing David West to score a career playoff-high 30 points in the series opener, the Spurs held the All-Star power forward to 10 points on 2-of-11 shooting. But West remained active under the basket with 10 rebounds.

"We're trying to make sure our defense is where we want to start. We don't worry about what we're doing on the offensive end," West said. "We stuck to what we do."

Tyson Chandler had 11 rebounds and all of his five points, including an alley-oop dunk of Paul's lob, during a key stretch midway through the fourth quarter when the Hornets prevented San Antonio from getting within single digits.

Tim Duncan led San Antonio with 18 points and eight rebounds, far better than his miserable Game 1, when he tied a career playoff low with five points and three rebounds.

But by the final minutes, Duncan was on the bench, resting his cheek on his hand with a dejected 100-yard stare.

"It's just frustrating losing. That's the biggest thing," Duncan said. "They've obviously done an excellent job defensively, frustrating all of us with their double-teaming, with their shifting. • It seems like they come the other way and they're not missing shots. That stacked on top of each other just makes the whole game very frustrating."

Manu Ginobili had 13 points for the Spurs and Tony Parker, guarded mostly by Paul, was limited to 11 and had two shots blocked by Chandler. Brent Barry added 14, some of it when the game was out of reach in the fourth quarter.

The Spurs continued to settle for three-pointers, going 8 of 27 from that distance and finishing at 42.5 percent shooting overall. The Hornets shot 48 percent.