03/06/2009 - 13:18
Down Goes Dallas
by Devon Jeffreys

A few more games like this, and Ty might blow the roof off the Hive.

Each time TC and Chris Paul hook up for the Crescent City Connection, that jolt of adrenaline sends the hometown crowd into a collective frenzy.

CP and Ty had it working again Thursday night, connecting for three third quarter CCC’s to get the crowd going. The Hornets fed off the energy in the second half to take a 45-45 tie and turn it into a 104-88 win.

All Dallas could do Thursday night was watch (Getty Images).

 The Hornets are now 6-0 since Tyson’s return to the lineup. CP knows that’s no coincidence:

“We’re definitely not peaking, but we’re playing a lot better than we were. Ever since I got my big man back, we’re 6-0, so I’m glad to have him back and we’re doing a good job right now.”

After TC won the opening tip, the Hornets came out fired up, knocking down jumpers and quickly pulled out to a 12-3 lead before the Mavericks could get going. Dallas followed with a 10-3 run of their own, which cut the lead to two. But after Rasual Butler hit a long range J, Tyson followed with a rebound and putback slam on the next possession to push the lead back to seven.

No. 6 finished the first quarter with just two points, but grabbed four rebounds in the opening frame. New Orleans led 24-21 at the end of the first.

After a short breather, Ty returned for the rest of the second quarter and went to work on the glass. Tyson grabbed three more rebounds in the second and followed a missed jumper by Julian Wright with a tip-in that looked eerily similar to the one that won the game against the Bucks last week.

At the break, the Big Easy’s line showed four points and seven boards, but the score was tied at 45.

After Dallas leaped out to their first lead of the game at the outset of the second half, TC and CP rode the CCC back to the lead. CP3 and the The Big Easy were able to break down the Mavericks’ zone defense to the point where Paul could do anything he wanted with the ball and No. 6 was constantly open in the paint.

The two connected three times in a two and a half minute stretch and, with help from a couple of buckets from Wright, turned a five-point deficit into a three-point lead.

The third connection, an emphatic, rim-shaking, throwdown by Tyson off a picture-perfect CP3 lob, was whistled for a technical as No. 6 was said to have “hung” on the rim.

But the whistle didn’t mean a thing because the energy boost from the Crescent City Connection was the shot of adrenaline that ignited a 17-6 run. The Mavericks were left shaking their heads.

During the run, the Hornets pushed their lead to 12 and by the end of the quarter, New Orleans held a 75-67 lead. The Hornets would never look back en route to the big victory.

Bradley Handwerger at WWL-TV best described Tyson’s role in the victory:

The Hornets became the luckiest team in the league when Oklahoma City voided the Tyson Chandler trade.

OK, so we’ve discussed this.

But after New Orleans’ 104-88 win over Dallas on Thursday night, it must be mentioned again.

Tyson Chandler is a difference-maker on this team. In fact, he’s the difference between the Hornets being an also-ran and New Orleans suddenly being a legitimate contender for more than a first-round playoff series.

No. 6 finished the game with 10 points and 11 boards, for his 14th double double this season. He added an assist and shot a perfect 5-5 from the floor. The win moved the Hornets into a fourth place tie with Houston in the western conference playoff picture. The trial No. 2 San Antonio by just two games.

For highlights of the game, NBA.com and ESPN have got you covered.

HOW DOES HE DO THAT?
Though Tyson was involved in several big plays with Chris Paul in the win. The Big Easy could only stand back and watch as CP completed his favorite play of the night.

Late in the game with the Hornets ahead comfortably, Paul got out on a fast break with only Jason Terry in his way, rather than pull-up or try to draw a foul, CP kept going, dribbling the ball between Terry’s legs before dropping it off to Rasual Butler for the jam. As the play went down, Ty could be seen at half court with his hands on his head in awe of his talented teammate:

“Incredible. He made one of the best moves I’ve ever seen in my life,” TC said, as quoted by the Times-Picayune. “You couldn’t even tell it happened because it happened so fast. A cross-over between the defender’s legs and dropped it back to ‘Sual. I was at halfcourt and just stopped. I couldn’t even finish the break. I’d never seen anything like that. It’s a good thing he didn’t drop it back to me, because I wouldn’t have even been there.”

OLYMPIC ASPIRATIONS
It’s well known that Tyson was under serious consideration for the 2008 U.S. Olympic team that went on to win gold in Beijing last summer. In fact, Ty was selected as an injury alternate but was forced to sit out to heal some old injuries so he’d be ready for this season. But The Big Easy still dreams of playing for the gold. In a Q & A with The Sporting News’ Sean Deveney, No. 6 touches on his Olympic hopes along with other topics:

SN: You were an alternate for the 2008 U.S. Olympic team, but you had to pull out. Are you hoping for a spot in 2012?

TC: I would love the opportunity to play. I was blessed to be invited before, and I was so proud of the team that went to China and won the gold, brought it back. I think everyone was proud of that team, and I’d love to be part of it. 


SN: Has Team USA director Jerry Colangelo contacted you at all?

TC: No, but we are still pretty far off on all of that. I talked to him last summer, and he knows where I stand on it. I haven’t talked to him about it since. But I hope the opportunity comes up again.


To read the whole piece, where TC touches on what helped him get through the whole trade/no-trade fiasco, the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Skills Challenge and Asthma, click here.

IT MAY BE WORKING
Tyson’s plan to increase his Twitter hits by mentioning Shaq is getting noticed.

The Big Easy’s latest blog was posted Wednesday here on TysonChandler.com, and yesterday on NBA.com, and has since been linked by well read basketball blogs, BallerBlogger and FanHouse. So it’s fair to say the blog has drawn some attention. It’s also impacted Ty’s Twitter following. He’s now up to nearly a thousand followers and the numbers are increasing by the minute.

If you haven’t already, sign up to follow Tyson on Twitter, so you can always keep tabs on the Big Easy.

NEXT UP
TC and the Bees will look to stretch their winning streak to a season-long seven games Saturday night when they host Tyson’s kinda-sorta former team, the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Hornets are 3-0 against OKC this season including back-to-back wins on November 21 and 22.

Since Ty’s trade to OKC was rescinded, The Big Easy is averaging 10.8 points and 11.3 rebounds per game for the streaking Hornets.

To close his column for WWL-TV, Bradley Handwerger asks the right question:

My only question at this point is this: do you think the Oklahoma City Thunder are re-evaluating their relationship with the doctor who ultimately said Chandler’s health was waning?

Tip off is scheduled for 5 p.m. PST on Saturday night and all the action can be seen live in New Orleans on CST.

RELATED STORIES
New Orleans Hornets win sixth consecutive game (The Times-Picayune, March 6, 2009)
http://blog.nola.com/hornetsbeat/2009/03/new_orleans_hornets_win_sixth.h...
New Orleans Hornets show necessary swagger (The Times-Picayune, March 6, 2009)
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Hornets.com postgame: Hornets 104, Mavericks 88 (Big Easy Buzz Blog, March 5, 2009)
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Mavericks at Hornets Box Score (NBA.com, March 5, 2009)
http://www.nba.com/games/20090305/DALNOH/boxscore.html
Once again, Chandler proves nixing of trade was fortunate (WWL-TV.com, March 6, 2009)
http://www.wwltv.com/sports/stories/wwl030509bhhornetsmavscolumn.940f42d...
Q&A with Hornets C Tyson Chandler, (NBC Sports.com/The Sporting News, March 5, 2009)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29530289/
Points in the Paint (BallerBlogger.com, March 5, 2009)
http://ballerblogger.com/2009/03/05/points-in-the-paint-20/
NBA Essentials: Tyson Feuds with Shaq! (FanHouse, March 5, 2009)
http://nba.fanhouse.com/2009/03/05/nba-essentials-tyson-feuds-with-shaq/