(Best E Casino) - Southwest Division rivals battle in the Western Conference semifinals, as the New Orleans Hornets host the defending world champion San Antonio Spurs tonight at New Orleans Arena in the opener of their best-of- seven series.

This is the first time these teams have met in the playoffs. During the regular season, the clubs split four contests as both teams earned a victory at home and on the road.

New Orleans owns the home-court advantage over the third-seeded Spurs in this series. Game 2 is scheduled for Monday at New Orleans Arena.

The Southwest Division-champion and second-seeded Hornets are back in the postseason for the first time since the 2003-04 campaign. New Orleans moved to the Western Conference for the 2004-05 campaign, and are competing in the West playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

New Orleans won its first best-of-seven playoff series (1-6) in franchise history, as it defeated the seventh-seeded Dallas Mavericks in five games, 4-1, in the first round of the postseason. The Hornets four wins over the Mavericks were by an average of 13.5 points.

MVP candidate Chris Paul was dominant against the Mavericks. The Wake Forest product, who is playing in his first NBA playoffs, led the Hornets in scoring (24.6 ppg) and assists (12.0 apg). The All-Star point guard also grabbed 5.6 rebounds per game and shot 50 percent from the field and 81.1 percent from the charity stripe.

All-Star David West continued his strong play for the Hornets, as he posted 22.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. The 6-9 forward made an incredible 95.7 percent (22-of-23) of his attempts from the foul line.

Paul and West received plenty of help from their supporting cast. Sharp- shooting Peja Stojakovic netted 15.8 per game, while guard Jannero Pargo averaged 14.6 points and center Tyson Chandler grabbed a team-best 11.2 rebounds per contest.

NBA Coach of the Year Byron Scott finished his fourth season on the Hornets' bench. He guided the club to a dismal 18-64 record in 2004-05, 38-44 mark in 2005-06 and a 39-43 finish last season. Scott has experienced winning in the postseason, as he guided the New Jersey Nets to consecutive NBA Finals appearances in 2002 and 2003. Scott owns an impressive 29-15 record in the playoffs.

The Hornets are 0-4 in the second round of the playoffs. They lost to New York (4-1) in 1993, Chicago (4-1) in 1998, Milwaukee (4-3) in 2001 and New Jersey (4-1) in 2002.

The Spurs, who swept the Cleveland Cavaliers in last year's NBA Finals, have captured four world championships (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007) in the last nine years.

History is not on San Antonio's side. Following a championship, the Spurs have never made it past the Western Conference semifinals in the playoffs. In 2000 they fell in the opening round to Phoenix, and lost in the semis to the Lakers in 2004 and Dallas in 2006.

San Antonio, which is playing in the postseason for the 11th straight year, is the third seed and advanced to the West semis for the eighth straight year. The Spurs knocked out Steve Nash and the sixth-seeded Phoenix Suns in five games in round one.

Point guard Tony Parker, who was the MVP of the 2007 NBA Finals, had an unbelievable series against Phoenix. The 25-year-old Parker led the Spurs in scoring (29.6 ppg) and assists (7.0 apg). He shot 52.2 percent from the floor, including 50 percent from beyond the arc.

All-Star forward Tim Duncan did his usual stellar work, as he averaged 24.8 points and 13.8 rebounds and was not effected by the presence of Phoenix' Amare Stoudemire and Shaquille O'Neal.

Sixth Man of the Year Manu Ginobili registered 18.2 points per game for the Spurs, while role players Bruce Bowen, Michael Finley, Fabricio Oberto and Kurt Thomas all did their jobs against the Suns.

Gregg Popovich, who has led the Spurs to four championships during his tenure in San Antonio and was named the 2002-2003 NBA Coach of the Year, knows how to get the most out of his team, especially in the postseason. He is an outstanding 96-52 in the playoffs.

The Spurs have won four of their last seven trips to the West semis. They defeated the Suns, 4-2, last year in this round.