(Best E Casino) - The defending world champion San Antonio Spurs try to even their Western Conference semifinal series with the New Orleans Hornets, as the clubs meet for Game 2 of the best-of-seven set at New Orleans Arena.

In Game 1, David West scored a playoff career-best 30 points, and the second- seeded Hornets put the defensive clamps on Tim Duncan and beat the third- seeded Spurs, 101-82, at home.

Peja Stojakovic added 22 points and Chris Paul contributed 17 points and 13 assists for New Orleans, which scored 13 in a row during the third quarter on the way to beating the defending world champions. Tyson Chandler had 10 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks.

Duncan was limited to a career playoff-low five points on 1-of-9 shooting. He also had just three rebounds. Tony Parker scored 23 for the Spurs, while Manu Ginobili tallied 19 points and Bruce Bowen netted 17 in defeat.

Game 3 of this series is scheduled for Thursday at the AT&T Center.

The Hornets have won seven straight games as the host in the playoffs, dating back to the 2004 postseason.

San Antonio, which has lost two in a row on the road in the postseason, has won three straight Game 2s in the playoffs, while the Hornets are 5-5 in their last 10 Game 2s in the postseason.

The Spurs have not lost the first two games of a playoff series since the 2001 Western Conference finals. They were swept, 4-0, by the Lakers that year.

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 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.

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.

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.