Hornets' Paul to miss at least four weeks

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ An ankle injury will keep New Orleans Hornets guard Chris Paul sidelined for at least a month, a team spokesman said Friday. <br/><br/>``He'll miss a minimum of four weeks. He

Friday, December 29th 2006, 12:38 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ An ankle injury will keep New Orleans Hornets guard Chris Paul sidelined for at least a month, a team spokesman said Friday.

``He'll miss a minimum of four weeks. He had an MRI Thursday and he has a severely sprained ankle,'' spokesman Scott Hall said.

Paul injured the ankle when he stepped on the foot of Seattle's Johan Petro late in the first quarter of Tuesday's game in Seattle.

Paul is the Hornets leading scorer at 18.4 points per game and assists leader with 9.0 per game.

He is the fourth of the Hornets top six players on the bench because of injury.

Guard Peja Stojakovic is out for up to three months after back surgery, forward David West is out for up to two months after elbow surgery and key reserve Bobby Jackson will miss another two weeks while recovering from a cracked rib.

Jannero Pargo is expected to replace Paul as the team's starting point guard. In 28 games, the past two as a starter, Pargo is averaging 9.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 23.6 minutes per game.