It was a happy Easter for Hornet fans as New Orleans defeated the L.A. Lakers 93-88 in front of a raucous crowd at the Hive. Chris Paul's triple-double (27 points, 15 assists, 13 rebounds) led the way as the Hornets tied the best-of-seven series 2-2. Here is more from the AP and espn.com, followed by more blogging from Scott.

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"It's huge for us," said Paul, who turned in the performance after spending Easter with family. "We wanted to bring a win to our fans in New Orleans. Happy we got this win on Easter. Having my family here makes it more special."

Wearing a black wrap on his left hand and a small bandage over his right eye, Paul scored 14 of New Orleans' 24 points in the fourth quarter. The All-Star guard then capped his brilliant performance by running down the clock and setting up Jarrett Jack's short jumper, which made it 90-86 with 9.3 seconds left.

"Chris Paul, that was one of the better performances I've seen in the playoffs," Hornets coach Monty Williams said. "A lot of guys score. He scored. He assisted. He rebounded."

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=310424003

It was the best performance Chris Paul has given this year. Maybe his best performance ever. I said the same thing last Sunday after the Hornets stunning Game 1 win. On Easter Sunday, he topped it. His game-high 13 rebounds equaled the total of 7 foot Andrew Bynum and 7 foot 1 Pau Gasol combined. The size of the Lakers is the biggest advantage L.A. has over New Orleans. Chris Paul, the shortest player on the floor, negated that Sunday night with his brilliant play.

"He's maybe 6 feet (tall) and he's in there getting 13 rebounds," explained a smiling Trevor Ariza in postgame.

CP3 used the high pick and roll to perfection, much the same way he did in Game 1. And despite an injured right thumb, along with an Artest elbow to the eye, the Hornets 4-time all-star point guard played a game-high 44 minutes.

Before this series began, more people believed in the Easter bunny than the Hornets. After Paul's play in Game 4, the Easter bunny has a few more believers.

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