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TORONTO — With about four minutes left in the third quarter, Chris Paul, the New Orleans Hornets' water bug of a point guard, zipped right and then zipped left before lofting a high, gentle pass to his teammate, Tyson Chandler, who crushed home a dunk before anyone in a Toronto Raptors uniform knew what happened.
Anthony Parker looked at his Raptors bench as if to say, "What now?"
A timeout was called, but that only delayed the inevitable in a 118-111 undressing by the Hornets that left a sellout crowd at the Air Canada Centre booing and anyone who was paying attention understanding why the third-year Hornets point guard is a very plausible candidate for most valuable player in the NBA.
The routine would be to look at the box score, note that New Orleans had shot 60 per cent from the floor and figure the Raptors were on cruise control defensively.
Hornets star Chris Paul slams down against the Raptors. (Mark Blinch/Reuters)
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- New Orleans Hornets
- Toronto Raptors
- Chris Bosh
- Jose Calderon
- Tyson Chandler
- Carlos Delfino
- T.J. Ford
- Kris Humphries
- Linton Johnson
- Jamario Moon
- Jamario Moon
- Rasho Nesterovic
- Chris Paul
- Morris Peterson
- Peja Stojakovic
- David West
But sometimes a special player makes all the right plays and his teammates respond by completing them, and there's very little the opposition can do about it.
"We tried to do different things, but there were still able to have success," Raptors forward Chris Bosh said. "There wasn't anything we could throw at them to throw their offence off. They have a lot of good pieces and a lot of good players."
The loss dropped the Raptors to 37-36, but they remained in sixth place in the East as they head out on the road for a game tonight against the Charlotte Bobcats and on Wednesday against the Atlanta Hawks.
The best of all of New Orleans's pieces is Paul, who combines the best qualities of the Raptors' point guard tandem — T.J. Ford's quickness and inventiveness and Jose Calderon's steady playmaking and shooting — in one package.
He finished with 20 points and 16 assists, the 10th time he's had at least 20 points and 15 helpers in the same game.
There have been only eight other such games in the NBA this season.
That kind of spectacular output on a team that surprisingly led the NBA's Western Conference with a 50-22 record after last night has earned Paul respect beyond his 22 years and thrust him into the middle of one of the most heated MVP debates in years.
His ability to control the pace of the game with the dribble, routinely split double teams and send one-handed laser passes to all corners of the court stole the show on a night that was otherwise notable for the return to the Air Canada Centre of Morris Peterson, a fan favourite in his seven seasons in Toronto before signing as a free agent with New Orleans in the summer.
It wasn't a particularly memorable night for Peterson, who had eight points on 3-for-8 shooting. But the career leader in games played for the Raptors acknowledged the warm ovation he received by dropping to a push-up position and kissing the Raptors logo at centre court when his name was called.
He also blocked a shot from Bosh, his old teammate.
But his best contribution was his telling description of what it's like to share the court with Paul as he blossoms into quite possibly the best point guard in the game.
"You see him with the baby face and off the court he's one of the most humble guys, but once he gets on the court, he's like a little pit bull, a little bulldog," Peterson said. "He takes his game to a level I've only seen a few guys get to — the Jason Kidds, the Michael Jordans, those guys. He wants the ball in his hands for game-winners."
He curved and carved his way through the Raptors for seven first-quarter assists as New Orleans jumped out to a 37-28 lead after the first quarter and led by 22 points heading into the fourth.
Paul was expert in finding open jumpers for the likes of David West (32 points) and Peja Stojakovic (25 points), while setting up Chandler (17 points) for layups and dunks.
The Raptors did mount a late charge with some energetic play from a small lineup that featured newcomer Linton Johnson, cutting the Hornets' lead to six points with a minute and a half to play, but by then Paul had returned to the floor, found West for a layup and Chandler for a dunk to put his team up by 10 points.
At that point, Paul turned around and mouthed "It's over."
And he was dead right.
