04/23/2009 - 15:45
Headed Back to the Hive
by Devon Jeffreys

No. 6 grabbed 11 boards and converted three Crescent City Connections on Wednesday night, but it wasn't enough to save New Orleans.

With little going right on offense, the Bees also couldn’t stifle the Denver shooters, and New Orleans fell into a 0-2 hole with a 108-93 loss Game 2 loss in the Western Conference's opening round.

Tyson battling the Denver's Nene, who went 4-13 in Game 2 (Getty Images).

The series now heads back to NOLA, with the Hornets looking to defend their home court as the Nuggets did the last two games. Byron Scott said after the game, that’s all the Hornets need to worry about right now, as quoted by the Times-Picayune:

“All they did was take care of home. That’s the bottom line. Our objective was to come here and win a game and we didn’t get it done. They took care of home so we’ve got to go back home and do the same thing. We play better in New Orleans, there’s no doubt about that. Our fans have been fantastic all season long. Again, it’s a challenge and we’re looking forward to it.”

CCC A WORK IN PROGRESS
Though they worked together for three thunderous throwdowns on Wednesday night, Chris Paul and TC are understandably a little rusty in converting their signature play. There were at least three more opportunities for connections, but whether it was because of Ty’s lack of lift off his ankle, or uncharacteristically poor passes by Paul, the two just weren’t on the same page, as noted by CP to the Times-Picayune:

“There were a few times you get in the lane and guys get a hand on it, but like Coach said, we turned the ball over too much. I think I turned it over five times. I threw two lobs to Tyson too high, threw one behind him, and that stuff comes back to bite us especially when they score in transition.”

The few they did connect on however, were rim-rockers to say the least.

The first CCC came four minutes into the game with the Nuggets ahead 8-6. CP cut through the lane with dribble penetration, drawing three defenders his way, including Nene off of Ty. Just when it looked like Paul was going to take a contested driving layup, CP lobbed it up over the basket to TC who slammed it down with serious authority to tie the score.

They did it again at the one-minute mark to go in the half, with Tyson setting the pick, then rolling right to the basket to flush it home. The bucket brought the Hornets within eight.

The keys to the play were a strong bob and weave from CP to draw an extra defender and a running start for Ty so that he could plant and leap off his other ankle. When he was allowed to do this, No. 6 looked like his old self, flying over the rim and coming down to rock the house.

NO NO, NENE
The tussling between Tyson and Nuggets center Nene Hilario nearly came to a head on Tuesday night, when Nene took exception to a hard foul by the Big Easy.

The foul came after Anthony Carter led the Brazilian center with a perfect bounce pass, left defenseless by the pass, No. 6 went for a swat at Nene’s layup, but instead, ended up getting a piece of the Nuggets center and stumbling out of bounds.

When Ty got up, words were exchanged and TC gave Nene a small shove. The two then came face-to-face in a stare down before being separated by referees and teammates. Both players were issued a technical foul for the skirmish.

Nene’s frustration could be attributed to the fact that TC wasn’t giving him much to work with. Despite being hobbled by the ankle and being unable to jump all that much. TC was able to effectively limit the big man’s output.

Nene finished with eight points on just 4-13 shooting. Tyson was able to hold the Brazilian in check by getting a hand in his face enough to disturb his shot and limiting his mobility around the basket. This allowed other players, like David West, to reject his shots.

But despite strong interior D, defensive rebounding was lacking for much of the game and the Nuggets used second chance opportunities to their advantage.

THE ANKLE IS ‘ALL RIGHT’
Ty was limping all over the floor in the fourth quarter, especially after landing awkwardly trying to defend a Chris Anderson shot at the 4:35 mark. Byron Scott noticed and got TC out of the game moments later, as quoted in the Times-Picayune:

“Toward the end of the game he was limping a little bit, that’s why I tried to get him out,” coach Byron Scott said. “We’ve got a couple of days for him to heal and rest and get some treatment. I think he’ll be fine for Saturday.”

During the game TNT’s Marc Fein relayed the following note:

“It will be interesting to watch how his foot holds up throughout the day. Right after game one he was sitting with both feet in ice. I asked him how his foot was during the game and he said he just couldn’t move off the pick and rolls, couldn’t rotate on defense as well. When I asked him at practice about it yesterday, he said “I’ve just got to keep the swelling down.”

Tyson’s analysis of his condition to reporters after Wednesday’s loss was shorter and simpler:

“I’m all right. You’re going to get banged up in these types of games, but I’m all right.”

NEXT UP
The Hornets are now in a must win situation in Game 3. The tilt is slated for a Saturday matinee at the Hive. Tip-off is scheduled for 10 a.m. PST and all the action can be seen live, nationwide on ESPN.

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