James gets no help from mates in Cavaliers loss

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — David West had 27 points and 15 rebounds, leading the New Orleans Hornets to their fifth straight victory, 86-76 over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night.

Chris Paul had 20 points, nine assists and tied a career high with seven steals, while Tyson Chandler added 11 points and 12 rebounds to help New Orleans (20-10) tie its best start through 30 games in franchise history.

LeBron James drew the first sellout of the season in New Orleans Arena (17,623) and also drew a lot of attention from New Orleans’ defense. James tried to let his teammates do most of the scoring through the first three quarters, but it didn’t work.

New Orleans led by double digits throughout the second half, when James scored 13 of his 21 points.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 14 points and 12 rebounds for Cleveland, but scored only two points in the second half. Daniel Gibson scored 14, while Drew Gooden had 10 points and 10 rebounds.