David West had 25 points, Chris Paul added 17 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds and the New Orleans Hornets beat the Portland Trail Blazers 92-77 on Friday night for their fourth straight victory.

West and Paul teamed to lead New Orleans' rally, with the Hornets outscoring Portland 41-19 in the final 15 minutes. James Posey had 15 points and nine rebounds, and Peja Stojakovic added 14 points for the Hornets.

Rudy Fernandez led Portland with 19 points. Travis Outlaw added 16 points, and LaMarcus Aldridge had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Blazers, who were held to their second-lowest points total of the season.

For the second game, Portland was without Brandon Roy, who has been hobbled by a strained right hamstring and averaged 24.5 points in the first two meetings between the teams this season. The Hornets won 87-82 in New Orleans on Nov. 14, and the Blazers won 101-86 Nov. 28 at the Rose Garden, where they are 12-4 this season.

The Hornets, who were beginning a four-game road trip, led at the half 45-43, but Portland led 58-51 with 2:59 left in the third.

The game heated up midway through the third when Portland's Joel Przybilla and New Orleans' Tyson Chandler tangled up and nearly began fighting.

Przybilla shoved Chandler with a forearm in the abdomen, which caused Chandler to lunge forward and smack Przybilla with a harder, more blatant forearm. Officials Sean Corbin and Gary Zielinski, working as a two-man crew with Jack Nies missing the game due to injury, watched the replay screen

before deciding to eject Chandler for a flagrant-2 foul.

The Hornets trailed by five, but the loss of Chandler seemed to re-energize them. New Orleans made 13 of 19 shots in the fourth quarter against a sagging Portland defense. Posey keyed a 23-7 run with three 3-pointers and Paul converted two driving layups and a 3 to put New Orleans up 77-67 with 5:05 left in the game.

Hilton Armstrong entered the game for Chandler and scored 10 of his 12 points in the fourth quarter.

Notes:

rzybilla played despite a wrist injury. He had 10 points and seven rebounds, played with a brace on his forearm. ... New Orleans was 10-3 in December. ... Portland's previous low points total was 76 on opening night at the Los Angeles Lakers.