THE Hornets dominated the defending NBA champions San Antonio Spurs for the second straight game, Chris Paul scoring 30 points to lead them to a 102-84 win in New Orleans on Monday.

    The Hornets, trailing by one point at halftime, dominated the third period to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinal series.

    David West led all scorers with 30 points in the Hornets’ 101-82 win in the series opener. On Monday the Spurs focused on stopping West and held him to just 10 points, resulting in more opportunities for Paul.

    Peja Stojakovic added 25 points for the Hornets, who are the first team to lead the Spurs 2-0 in a series since the Los Angeles Lakers in 2001.

    San Antonio’s Tim Duncan scored 18 points just claiming only five in Game One. The series moves to San Antonio for Game Three on Thursday.

    In the other playoff game Monday, the Detroit Pistons took a 2-0 series lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series with a 100-93 victory over the Orlando Magic at Auburn Hills.

    Detroit’s Chauncey Billups scored 28 points, including a disputed 3-point basket that came as time in the third quarter expired.(SD-Agencies)