Game Day Preview: Spurs vs. Hornets

TEAM LEADERS
	Points	Rebounds	Assists
SPURS	Manu Ginobili 21.5	Tim Duncan 9.3	Tony Parker 7.3
HORNETS	David West 18.2	Emeka Okafor 9.6	Chris Paul 10.3

The San Antonio Spurs will visit the New Orleans Hornets tonight looking for a bit of revenge as try to extend their Southwest Division lead.

The Hornets (12-3) beat the Spurs 99-90 on Oct. 30, with Tim Duncan and Tony Parker sitting out the fourth quarter after San Antonio fell behind by 16 at the end of the third quarter.

Since then, the Spurs (13-2) racked-up 12 straight wins, a streak that ended last Friday with a 103-94 loss to the Dallas Mavericks.

Despite the loss, the Spurs are off to their best 15-game start in franchise history. Duncan has struggled early this season, he is averaging just 13.5 points and 9.3 rebounds -- far below his career averages of 21.0 points and 11.6 rebounds.

The Hornets are coming off a nice 97-78 road victory over the Portland Trail Blazers last Friday. They held the Blazers to a season-low 13 points in the fourth quarter to move within one game of the Spurs in the South West.

Chris Paul scored 16 points and added 13 assists, and Willie Green scored a team high 19 points off the bench.

The Hornets leads the league in points allowed at 91.1 points per game, while the Spurs are third in scoring with 107.1 points per game.

Offense -- Tim Duncan has to wakeup and get out of his slump. The Spurs will need his inside presence to open the lane for Ginobili, Parker, and Jefferson. George Hill, Matt Bonner and Gary Neal should give the Spurs the added punch from the bench.

Defense -- They will have to limit Chris Paul's play making ability, contain David West and Okafor on the inside and be wary of the Hornet's outside shooters.

HORNETS:

Offense -- Their offense starts with Chris Paul and he have plenty of help with Trevor Ariza and Marco Belinelli on the wings and Okafor and West on the inside.

Defense -- Besides containing Duncan on the middle, they have to limit Ginobili, Parker and Jefferson's dribble penetrations and guard the Spurs' perimeter shooters.

INJURIES

Spurs -- James Anderson - stress fracture (out)

Hornets -- No Significant Injuries.

PREDICTION: The Spurs could be thinking payback in this one as they try to get back to the win column. The Hornets are still unbeaten in New Orleans while the Spurs are perfect on the road.

This could be a down-the-wire finish, the Spurs will avenge their early season loss against the Hornets and get back on the right track.

Follow Robby Lim on Twitter @RobbyLim21