OKLAHOMA CITY (Ticker) -- The New Orleans Hornets allowed 42 points in final period but still managed to hold on against the winless Atlanta Hawks.

Rookie Chris Paul had 25 points and a season-high 12 assists as the Hornets squeezed out a 95-92 victory over the struggling Hawks.

Atlanta, which trailed by 27 points in the fourth quarter, had a chance get within one, but Joe Johnson came up short on a jumper with 11 seconds to play. Paul grabbed the rebound, was fouled and sank both free throws with 3.4 seconds left.

"Everything that could go wrong in the fourth quarter went wrong," Hornets coach Byron Scott said. "Even with one or two minutes left, its never over in the NBA."

"We just didn't complete the second half, and man, that's a shame," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. "Our effort the second half was like night and day."

Hawks rookie Salim Stoudamire, who sank a deep 3-pointer to make it 93-92, fired an airball on a potential tying 3-pointer, sending Atlanta to its ninth straight loss - all against Western Conference teams.

"If you win by 30 or one, either way it's a win," Paul said, who made five free throws in the final 22 seconds. "So we have to look at the positive."

Kirk Snyder scored 11 points and Chris Andersen added 10 and a career-high 18 rebounds for the Hornets, who ended a three-game losing streak. Andersen started for P.J. Brown, who missed the game due to a death in the family.

"P.J. had to take care of some family business and they needed someone to step up and I did," Andersen said. "I got my mind prepared to start. Usually I have the mind-set to come off the bench, but I brought the energy early."

Stoudamire scored 24 of his season-high 30 points in the fourth quarter and Johnson added 21 for Atlanta, which made seven 3-pointers in the final period. Al Harrington had 14 points and 10 rebounds.

"It hurts really bad because we were down by so much," said Stoudamire, who made 4-of-7 3-pointers. "We put forth so much effort to fight back and to have a chance at the end and not come through, it's disheartening."

The Hornets took charge in the second quarter, outscoring the Hawks, 28-14, and pushing the lead to 51-32 at halftime. Paul had 11 points and eight assists in the first half.