March 11, 2009

Capitol Gains

It appears Monday night in Atlanta was just a hiccup.

Fresh off a tough setback to the Hawks in the ATL, TC and the Hornets rolled through Washington and over the Wizards on Wednesday night for a 109-98 victory.

No. 6 was back to double double duty, scoring 11 points and pulling down 10 rebounds in the win to record his 15th double double this season.

Of Tyson’s 11 points, several came when TC used his speed to set up transition opportunities, Hornets point guard Chris Paul noted the importance of this, as quoted on the Big Easy Buzz Blog:

“We are at our best when we get out in transition. We force teams into tough shots and they miss, so then we fast break and pick-and-roll. Tyson and David West make shots and that’s how we got some separation.”

No. 6 scored six in the first quarter and pulled down five boards in the frame. But the Hornets still found themselves trailing by six after one.

After pulling to within A point to end the first half, New Orleans really got things going in the third.

The two teams traded baskets back and forth for several minutes and the game was tied several times as the third quarter wound down. With the score even at 57, Ty got his alley-oop on for the biggest play of the night.

The Big Easy flushed a David West setup and drew a foul. TC converted the free throw to put the Hornets ahead 60-57.

Not only did the three-point play give New Orleans their largest lead of the game, but it also sparked an 11-0 run that gave the Bees a lead they’d hold for the duration.

As the Hornets stretched their lead in the fourth, Tyson got into the alley act one more time, on an emphatic slam off a CP feed. Paul finished with 13 assists, including three dimes to Ty, as part of a triple double.

POST PRESENCE
Not only did Tyson show up with points and boards but his presence inside kept the Wizards out of the kitchen for most of the night, as noted by Niall Doherty at Hornets 247:

“Our interior D was key tonight. During that big run spanning the middle quarters, we did a great job limiting the Wizards to one jump shot per trip. Chandler’s presence seemed to deter opposing drives. When the Wiz did venture in there, TC was either rejecting/altering the shot or helping well enough to force the ball back out to the perimeter.”

HISTORIC COMPANY
Of all the feats NBA players achieve on a nightly basis, only four players in NBA history have achieved the feat known as the quadruple double.

No player has achieved the epic milestone since 1994 when David Robinson scored 24 points had 10 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 blocks. But the first player to achieve the feat, Nate Thurmond, thinks Tyson is the type of player who could achieve the feat, as quoted by LZ Granderson at ESPN.com.

“Dirk’s not going to do it. Shaq is past his time for that … Tyson Chandler, maybe, because he can get the blocks,” Thurmond said.”

Chris Paul also makes Granderson’s list of players that could do it, meaning TC has the potential to be a part of two quad doubles.

NEXT UP
TC and the Bees continue their Eastern Conference road trip with a hike up to Milwaukee to take on the Bucks this Friday night. Tip-off is slated for 5:30 PST and all the action can be seen live in New Orleans on CST.

RELATED STORIES
Hornets at Wizards Box Score (NBA.com, March 11, 2009)
http://www.nba.com/games/20090311/NOHWAS/boxscore.html
The Hornets beat the Wizards (Hornets 247, March 11, 2009)
http://www.hornets247.com/blog/2009/03/11/the-hornets-beat-the-wizards
Will we ever see another NBA quadruple double (ESPN.com. March 11, 2009)
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=granderson/090311&sportC...
Hornets.com postgame: Hornets 109, Wizards 98 (Big Easy Buzz Blog, March 11, 2009)
http://neworleanshornetsblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/hornetscom-postgame-ho...
Chris Paul notches triple double, New Orleans Hornets roll past Washington Wizards (The Times-Picayune, March 12, 2009)
http://blog.nola.com/hornetsbeat/2009/03/chris_paul_notches_tripledoubl....