Cavs Latest Victim as East Meets (David) West

LeBron James's characteristic late-game heroics weren't quite enough, as fellow MVP contender Chris Paul sucked three defenders into the lane, then passed to David West for a last-second winning jumper that gave the Hornets a win over the Cavaliers. It was an impressive follow-up to West's superb 35-point game against Indiana in New Orleans' previous outing, and counteracted James's own go-ahead layup with eight seconds left.

James had previously hit two free throws to bring his Cavaliers to within 96-95. Then, following a Tyson Chandler dunk, he drove for a layup that center Zydrunas Ilgauskas tipped in, then drove and scored himself to give Cleveland its fleeting lead. The 100-99 win gave New Orleans a 2-0 start on its six-game roadtrip through the Eastern Conference. (More NBA stories.)