Portland 78, New Orleans 63 (F)

LAS VEGAS, July 20 – J.R. Pinnock scored a game-high 30 points and led the Portland Trail Blazers to a 78-63 win over the New Orleans Hornets at the NBA Summer League on Sunday.

Derrick Byars and Bobby Brown led the Hornets first quarter attack combining for 14 of the teams 22 points. The quarter featured seven lead changes and two ties with the Hornets leading by four at the buzzer.

Trailing by as many as 10 points in the second quarter, the Blazers came back and tied the game at 34 on a jump shot by Petteri Koponen with 34 seconds left in the half. The Hornets answered back with an alley-oop dunk by Brandon Bowman, which gave the Hornets a two-point lead at the break.

The Blazers came out on fire in the second half outscoring the Hornets by seven and took a five-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. Portland’s third-quarter effort was led by Pinnock who tallied 15 points in the quarter.

The Blazers held their lead in the fourth quarter and finished their summer schedule with a record of 3-2. The Hornets finished the summer at 4-2.

Four players scored in double-figures for the Hornets, including Derrick Byars with a team-high 15 points off the bench.

Notes: Jerryd Bayless was presented with the T-Mobile NBA Summer League Top Rookie trophy prior to the start of the game. Hornets guard Chris Paul sat courtside during the contest. The Hornets were the only team in the 2008 NBA Summer League to play a six game schedule. Bayless, who was also named to USA Basketball’s select team on Sunday, did not play after practicing with the select team earlier in the day.