[Raji]

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -Jannero Pargo's reaction to Jason Kidd's flagrant foul summed up the growth of the Hornets' confidence as they took a 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff series with the Dallas Mavericks.

''We didn't want him to get suspended,'' Pargo said after practice Monday. ''We want them to be at full strength and have their best team out there on the floor, so that way, if we get the win, it won't be tainted at all.''

Letting go of the ball just in time to brace his fall, Pargo narrowly avoided a face-plant on the hardwood after Kidd hooked his hand around the back of Pargo's neck and yanked the Hornets guard to the floor to prevent a transition layup.

Kidd was ejected with 7:16 remaining in the Hornets' 97-84 Game 4 victory in Dallas on Sunday night, but the NBA decided Monday that Kidd wouldn't be suspended for Game 5 in New Orleans on Tuesday night.

If the Hornets' three double-digit victories in this series are any guide, it may not make a difference. Oddsmakers have New Orleans set as a six-point favorite with the total at 193.

New Orleans won the first two games at home because of brilliant performances by Chris Paul, who had more than 30 points and at least 10 assists in each of those games.

Paul looked downright human during two games in Dallas, but that didn't prevent the Hornets from getting split on the road.

David West picked up the slack with 24 points Sunday night and perimeter sharpshooter Peja Stojakovic added 19. New Orleans reserves played ferocious defense and attacked on offense as well, with Pargo and rookie Julian Wright each scoring 11 points.

''We've gotten them out of rhythm on the offensive end because of our defense ... and that's going to continue because we understand how important it is for us to play defense to win this series,'' Hornets coach Byron Scott said. ''We have a lot of confidence that we can win this series. Obviously right now, being up 3-1, we've put ourselves in a pretty good position to make sure that happens.''

Although the Hornets were seeded second in the Western Conference and the Mavericks seventh, Dallas came in with the more impressive postseason resume.

This is the Mavs' eighth straight season in the playoffs, including a trip to the finals only two seasons ago. When Dallas earned the top seed in the West last season and lost to Golden State in the first round of the playoffs, it was considered a stunner.

The Mavs were expected to play like a team looking for redemption against a young New Orleans squad with relatively little postseason experience and led by a playoff rookie in Paul.

If experience means anything in this series, now is the time for Dallas to prove it. Otherwise, the Mavs may be in for a roster shakeup, if not the firing of coach Avery Johnson, following a second straight first-round playoff exit.

''We've got to show some heart, compete until the end, never give up,'' Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki said.

Nowtizki has been Dallas' best player in this series, averaging 28 points per game. Jason Terry (16.6 ppg) also has been solid, but Dallas hasn't gotten enough help from Kidd (7.2 ppg), Josh Howard (12.8 ppg) or Jerry Stackhouse (5.0 ppg).

Howard has been in a rut since Game 2, heard boos in Dallas and demonstrated how low his confidence has gotten on Sunday night by hesitating on an open jump shot before tossing up an air ball. He was 3-for-16 in Game 4, while Kidd had only three points, three assists and four rebounds before his ejection.

Howard's struggles have come at a bad time for the Mavs, who need a third scoring option against a Hornets team playing defense with youthful vigor.

''If you're in November, December, and you hit a week stretch of not playing good basketball, you have 40 games to get it turned around,'' Johnson lamented when asked about Howard's play. ''Now you have one game because its single elimination right now.''

The Hornets expect an added boost from a home crowd looking to witness the first time an NBA team representing New Orleans has ever won a playoff series.

The Jazz never even made the playoffs while they resided in the Big Easy. The Hornets made the postseason in each of their first two seasons here, but lost in the first round both times.

''Another first? We've been doing that all season long,'' said Scott, whose team set a franchise record with 56 wins in the regular season. ''We've been breaking a lot of trends all season long, so that would be a nice one to break also.''

Raji

[Raji]

Philadelphia at Detroit (-9, 178)

For a while there, it looked like Flip Saunders was going to be spending his summer looking for a new job. His Pistons were in serious danger of going down 3-1 against the Atlanta Hawks as they trailed at halftime in Game 4, but Saunders finally figured out what he needed to do to beat the Hawks.

Atlanta had been frustrating the Pistons’ offense and snuffing out Rip Hamilton’s shot, so finally the Pistons started rotating screens to get the ball to Chauncey Billups where he was a threat to drive the lane. That forced Samuel Dalembert to stay in the paint, which in turn opened up the three-point shot for Rasheed Wallace, who nailed three long-range buckets in the second half.

That could be the key to the rest of the series.

Pick: Pistons

Phoenix at San Antonio (-5, 197 ½)

As good as the Suns looked in Sunday’s win, let’s keep it in perspective. San Antonio was up 3-0 in the series, none of their starters played more than 29 minutes in the game, and by all accounts, they took a game off.

Now the Spurs are back at home, they’ll be fired up, and everything that worked so well for the Suns on Sunday won’t work this time. The Spurs know how to respond in a situation like this – they haven’t lost back-to-back playoff games since 2006.

As Mike D’Antoni said: "It becomes really a kind of man-up, in your face, who's got the heart, who's got the will, who's got the energy."

That edge will most likely go to San Antonio tonight.

Pick: Spurs

Raji

[DrPicker]

I am a mavs fan, so I will try and be as unbiased as possible. I think that the Mavs will definitely come out strong and play the hornets really tough. I would say this line is too much. I feel the Mavs will get up to a decent lead, but they key for them is withstanding that initial run NO always has to open the third quarter. If they can hold on through that I think NO will lose this one. Its tough to call though.

As far as the other games go, I think Utah closes it out in Houston. I think the suns will beat the spurs, but not by much, and I think that the sixers will out play and hustle detroit again but lose this one. GL to everyone