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All-Star guard Chris Paul had 25 points with 15 assists and the Hornets ended a three-game slide by routing the visiting Suns 120-103 on Wednesday night to complete the four-game season-series sweep.

  "We've had some success against the Suns this year, because we match up with them pretty well," said fellow All-Star David West, who led the Hornets with 27 points. "CP (Paul) and our guards have an advantage over their guards with their speed and ability to get up and down the floor.

 "When you find match-ups, you just try to take advantage of them and it just so happens, that Phoenix is one of those teams that we feel confident against."

   Jannero Pargo scored 22 off the bench for New Orleans (38-18), Peja Stojakovic chipped in with 17 while Tyson Chandler finished with 12 and 15 rebounds.

 Amare Stoudemire led Phoenix (39-19) with 32 points and 14 rebounds while Brazilian Leandro Barbosa scored 17 points with five 3-pointers.

 "I don't like the fact that they beat us four times," Stoudemire said. "I don't like it at all, but they played better all four times."

   Shaquille O'Neal collected 15 points with seven rebounds but the Suns dropped to 2-3 since acquiring the 35-year-old centre from Miami.

 Despite the blowout, O'Neal doesn't think there's any reason to worry over the state of the Suns.

 "We are still learning what we have to do to win games. We'll be fine," he said. "We just caught a team that was called out by their coach and they played very well."

   Playing before their fourth sellout crowd of the season, the Hornets led by four at halftime before breaking open the game. They made 16-of-23 shots for a sizzling 69 per cent and outscored the Suns 38-22 to take a commanding 97-77 cushion into the final frame.

 Paul (eight points and seven assists), West (eight points), Morris Peterson (nine points) Stojakovic (seven points) and Tyson Chandler (six points) accounted for all the scoring.

 "In the third quarter they just didn't miss or we couldn't guard, one or the other," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "I don't think anybody has an answer for (Paul), but it was the other guys who killed us like West and Stojakovic."

   The Hornets kept a comfortable double digit lead in the final frame and coasted to the lopsided victory.

 Elsewhere:    Boston Celtics 92, Cleveland Cavaliers 87    Ray Allen scored 22 points, Kevin Garnett had 18 with 11 rebounds and the league-best Celtics made a successful return to Boston following a five-game West Coast trip.

 Cleveland's LeBron James scored 26 points, to become the youngest player in league history to score 10,000 points at 23 years, 59 days in just 368 games.

 Chicago Bulls 113, Indiana Pacers 107    Larry Hughes scored 29 points, Drew Gooden had 10 and 15 boards, helping the visiting Bulls snap a three-game slide.

 Mike Dunleavy had 25 points and Travis Diener added 22 for the Pacers (22-36) losers in 13 of the last 16 games.

 Philadelphia 76ers 101, Orlando Magic 89    Andre Miller and Willie Green scored 26 points apiece, helping the Sixers break the Magic's three-game winning streak.

 Atlanta Hawks 123, Sacramento Kings 117   Joe Johnson scored 26 points, while former King Mike Bibby had 24 with 12 assists in his Hawks' home debut.

 Beno Udrih and Brad Miller scored 25 points apiece in the Kings' (26-31) third straight setback.

 New York Knicks 113, Charlotte Bobcats 89    Nate Robinson scored 22 points, Jamal Crawford added 20 and the host Knicks tied their most lopsided victory of the season.

 Denver Nuggets 138, Seattle SuperSonics 96    Allen Iverson had 31 points, Kenyon Martin added 23 and the visiting Nuggets shot a franchise-record 67 per cent from the floor to record the most points in the NBA this season.

 Utah Jazz 103, Detroit Pistons 95    Mehmet Okur scored 24 points, including a huge three-pointer with 51 seconds left, and the Jazz overcame a late 15-point third-quarter deficit for their sixth straight win over the Pistons.

 Paul Millsap had 19 points, Carlos Boozer collected 18 with 15 rebounds while Deron Williams finished with 14 points and 14 assists as Utah (37-21) improved to 25-3 at home.

 Richard Hamilton had 22 points, Chauncey Billups added 21 for the Pistons (42-16) who fell to 13-3 in their last 16 games.

 Portland Trail Blazers 82, LA Clippers 80    Jarret Jack scored 13 of his season-tying high 21 points, and the Trail Blazers stopped a three-game overall slide with their first road win in the last eight games.

 Corey Maggette had 32 points, but missed a potential go-ahead 15-foot jumper in the final seconds, ending the Clippers' seven-game home winning streak over the Blazers.

By Paul Levine, dpa