Hornets 107, Grizzlies 102

Friday, March 31st 2006, 9:57 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Marc Jackson scored a season-high 24 points and Chris Paul added 21 points, including a three-point play with 20.9 seconds left, to help New Orleans beat Memphis 106-102 on Friday night and remain in the playoff race.

Jackson drove right at Pau Gasol on consecutive possessions in the fourth quarter, the first time putting back his own miss and the second time sinking a pullup jumper in the lane for a 97-94 New Orleans lead. Speedy Claxton followed with another pullup jumper for the Hornets, but Bobby Jackson answered with back-to-back driving layups to pull Memphis within 99-98.

Paul then dribbled the shot clock into single digits before curling around the right side for a layup that led to a three-point play.

Paul and Linton Johnson were 4-for-4 from the free throw line down the stretch to seal the game for New Orleans.

A seldom-used reserve before he was traded from New Jersey to New Orleans on Feb. 23, Marc Jackson has stepped up with leading scorer David West out because of a sprained left ankle. Jackson had 16 points in the Hornets' win Wednesday at Golden State that followed a string of 12 losses in 13 games.

He was 10-for-16 from the field and had seven rebounds on Friday. The Hornets also got 15 points from Rasual Butler, 14 from Johnson and 10 from J.R. Smith.

Bobby Jackson came off the bench to led Memphis with 26 points. Shane Battier scored 23, Mike Miller added 23. Gasol had 14, but fell two points shy of setting a new five-game scoring record for Memphis. He has 148 points in the Grizzlies' last five games _ two short of the franchise record set by Shareef Abdur-Rahim in February 1999.

The Hornets shot out to a 10-point second-quarter lead, but Memphis rallied back with a 20-9 run to take a 43-42 lead after a free throw by Chucky Atkins. Johnson answered with a jumper from the right corner to give New Orleans a one-point lead at halftime.

The Hornets then pulled ahead with an 8-0 run started by a tiebreaking dunk by Aaron Williams. Paul followed with back-to-back baskets and Marc Jackson hit a jumper from just behind the free throw line for a 54-46 New Orleans lead.

Memphis used a 12-4 run to go up 70-69 when Bobby Jackson hit 3-pointers on consecutive possessions. The Grizzlies led 72-71 entering the final period.

Notes: NBA legal counsel Joel Litvin and Clayton Bennett, the Oklahoma City businessman in discussions to buy a minority stake in the Hornets, sat side-by-side in front-row baseline seats. ... The Hornets waived injured forward Jackson Vroman (broken right wrist) and filled his spot by signing another former Iowa State player, NBA Developmental League MVP Marcus Fizer, to a 10-day contract. ... Hornets coach Byron Scott said P.J. Brown, who sprained his left ankle in the fourth quarter Wednesday against Golden State, could miss six games.