NEW ORLEANS — Hornets coach Byron Scott showed off the three championship rings he won as a player during his pregame speech.

The message? This is what the San Antonio Spurs have, and you want.

He certainly got through to All-Stars David West and Chris Paul.

West scored a career playoff-high 30 points to lead New Orleans to a 101-82 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal series last night.

Paul added 17 points, 13 assists and four steals for New Orleans, which trailed by as much as 11 in the first half but stormed into the lead for good in the third quarter.

"It sort of gives you goose bumps," Paul said of seeing Scott's rings, won in the 1980s with the Los Angeles Lakers. "We understand right now we're on that same journey and we feel like we can get there."

One reason they're off to such a good start against San Antonio is the way they played defense on Spurs center Tim Duncan.

Duncan had what he considered one of the worst games of his stellar career, going 1 of 9 from the field for a career playoff-low five points and only three rebounds.

"Things just didn't go my way," said Duncan, who offered only a few terse comments in the locker room. "They did a great job. ... I played badly, so credit to them."

Tyson Chandler was Duncan's primary defender, but the Hornets also swarmed Duncan with double teams throughout the game, forcing San Antonio to look for points from outside.

The Spurs hit 12 3-pointers in the game, but also missed 19.

The Hornets dominated the inside, outrebounding San Antonio 50-34 and outscoring the Spurs 46-26 in the paint. The Hornets also shot 50 percent, while the Spurs finished at 40.8 percent.

"They took away our inside game. Timmy had a rough night," said Tony Parker, who led the Spurs with 23 points. "We need to do a better job to get him the ball."

PISTONS 91, MAGIC 72

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — The Detroit Pistons beat up Orlando physically and mentally.

They shoved Dwight Howard out of his comfort zone and pushed the Magic's buttons during heated exchanges, leading to Detroit's win last night in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

"Mentally, we have to keep our heads," Howard said. "Detroit is going to talk and push. We knew that coming in, but we got too frustrated."

The game got emotional at times, leading to technicals against Rasheed Wallace along with Orlando's Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis.

"You can't rattle us," Wallace said. "We ain't no punks."

Howard had a relatively quiet night with 12 points, eight rebounds and three blocks after being the first player to score 20 points and grab 20 rebounds in three playoff games since Wilt Chamberlain did it in 1972.

The Pistons will host Game 2 tomorrow.