Crawford pours in 31

--G Jamal Crawford has been more cold than hot this season, coming into Friday's game shooting .386 from the field. He was on fire against the Hornets, though, scoring a season-high 31 points to go with eight assists in 30 minutes off the bench.

Crawford was only 2-for-7 from three-point range but was 8-for-9 on 2-point attempts.

"I do what the situation calls for," said Crawford, who had 20 points in the second half.

"I think my best thing is to score. We needed a jolt, and the shot felt good."

--A day after F LaMarcus Aldridge was named to his first All-Star Game, he had an un-All-Star-like performance with 14 points and seven rebounds in 38 minutes. He hit three straight jumpers, though, in the final five minutes as Portland finally seized control.

"Teams are going to try to take LaMarcus out of the game," said G Raymond Felton, who collected 18 points and six assists. "We have other guys able to hit shots, capable of taking over games. Me and Jamal (Crawford) showed that (Friday)."

QUOTE TO NOTE
"We needed to get a win. Sometimes it's not about how you win but the fact that you won. New Orleans scrapped, played hard and with heart. That team competed (Friday). But we did the things we needed to do down the stretch." -- Portland coach Nate McMillan.

Copyright (C) 2012 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved.