marco belinelli

The Hornets beat the Mavericks 99-97 at the Hive to avenge Monday's loss to Dallas. Chris Paul had 20 points and 11 assists.

While Chris Paul took the Hornets first loss hard, he most hard on himself. CP3 picked up his fourth foul early in the third quarter. "You can't do nothing on the bench. That's my fault. I felt like the fouls were here or there, that's my fault, I can't expect the refs to not call it."

David West and Marco Belinelli each scored 18 points Saturday night and the Hornets improved to 8-0, beating the Portland Trail Blazers 107-87. The Hornets have held all of their opponents this season under 100 points. This was the third straight time New Orleans allowed fewer than 90 points.

The New Orleans Hornets have been the surprise of the NBA thus far, but they are not fooled by their 7-0 start. Though they've beaten "contenders'' Miami, San Antonio and Denver (until Melo leaves), the Hornets' front office knows it hasn't yet joined the elite. The club's plan to get to that level involves Peja Stojakovic, whose value is now in his contract rather than his shot. ESPN's Chris Broussard has the story.