New Orleans, LA (Sports Network) - Chris Paul scored 24 points and dished out 16 assists as New Orleans downed Utah, 110-98.

David West added 25 points and 13 rebounds for the Hornets, who snapped a four-game skid against Utah and moved within one-half game of idle San Antonio in the Southwest Division. Peja Stojakovic chipped in with 20 points, while Jannero Pargo poured in 15 off the bench.

Mehmet Okur finished with 23 points and 13 boards for the Jazz, who have dropped two of three games but still lead the Northwest Division. Deron Williams had 22 points and 10 assists, while Ronnie Brewer netted 15 points.

New Orleans found itself with a commanding 23-point lead after a dynamic opening quarter but the Jazz chipped away from there and were down by just eight points entering the final frame.

Utah made things even tighter from there. Andrei Kirilenko deposited a layup with 6:33 left in the game to cut the Hornets lead to just four points, 89-85.

Seconds later, Stojakovic finally stemmed the momentum by stroking a three. Another three, by Pargo with 4:25 remaining, extended the Hornets' edge to 99-90.

Stojakovic then stuck the dagger into the Jazz by burying yet another three to make it a 102-91 game with 3:32 on the clock.

"We played great defense. I think when we play great defense, it leads to good offense," said Hornets center Tyson Chandler. "We're getting stops, we're getting rebounds and we're getting steals and deflections. We were taking off and sprinting on the other end. We let several teams score on us a lot, and then we're taking the ball out and we're walking it up, and we're getting stops and running."

The Hornets dominated the first quarter with a high-powered offense. With the game deadlocked at 10 in the early going, New Orleans ripped off a 23-0 run to seize control. Paul highlighted the flurry with a three and a driving layup before finishing it with a pair of free throws to make it 33-10 with 1:35 left in the frame.

"They (the Hornets) were the aggressor all night long," said Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan. "We didn't fight at all in the first part. When you're not ready to attack them, you can't expect to win; this team's too good. We have to do better the whole game. We can't play two or three quarters."

The Hornets led 38-15 by the end of the opening frame but the Jazz recovered a bit with an excellent second quarter and closed the gap to 13, 58-45, by intermission.

The Jazz continued to chip away in the third quarter and trailed 85-77 heading into the final frame.