NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- David West rough time as a starter didn't

shake his confidence when he came off the bench a night later.

West hit all seven of his shots for a career-high 15 points and

fueled a momentum-changing third-quarter surge in the New Orleans

Hornets' 104-80 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday

night.

"You don't worry about numbers," said West, who was 2-of-6 for

four points as a first-time starter in the Hornets' loss at Miami

on Tuesday night. "I wasn't even stressing about it. ... Some

nights you miss shots and guys on other teams are on roll, but you

can make up for that with effort -- just playing hard."

Baron Davis added 20 points, hitting a 3-pointer at the

third-quarter buzzer and two more early in the fourth as the

Hornets pulled away. Jamaal Magloire had 19 points and 12 rebounds,

while Robert Traylor added 18 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.

Allen Iverson led the Sixers with 20 points but shot only

8-of-23. Aaron McKie added 15 and Kenny Thomas 11 as Philadelphia

lost its third straight.

The loss left the 76ers 3{ out of a playoff spot with 13 games

left, and Iverson wasn't too optimistic about his team's postseason

prospects.

"I definitely think it's slipping away from us," he said.

"We're not mathematically out of it. You've got to feel like you

have a chance. We've just got to go out there, I guess, and fight

even harder to get wins. I think our problem is getting leads and

losing them."

Philadelphia led 57-51 after Iverson's breakaway layup early in

the second half, but New Orleans called timeout and the momentum

swung after that.

West, the 18th overall pick in last year's draft, made all four

of his third-quarter shots and had seven rebounds in the period as

the Hornets finished with a 22-7 run to take a 73-64 lead.

West not only made all of his shots, including his only free

throw, but also grabbed nine rebounds.

"I missed a couple easy ones last night. You get those

opportunities again, you don't miss those," he said.

New Orleans finished with a 35-14 advantage on second-chance

points while outrebounding the Sixers 45-30. The Hornets had 23

offensive rebounds.

"They outhustled us. They banged us. We couldn't get the ball

and that's what killed us, those second-chance shots," Iverson

said. "In this league, when guys miss shots, you've got to get

rebounds because if you give them another one, nine times out of 10

they're going to make it."

Philadelphia also committed 20 turnovers to New Orleans' nine.

"It was a combination of them pounding the offensive glass and

us turning it over," Ford said. "They pounded us in the second

half, every which way. They just took it to us."

Davis, who was 2-of-9 in the first half, found his shot late in

the third quarter, and his third 3 in a three-minute span gave New

Orleans an 82-68 lead with 8:35 to go.

Little went right for Philadelphia thereafter. When the Sixers

forced Darrell Armstrong to heave an awkward shot at the shot-clock

buzzer, the rebound took a funny bounce and Eric Snow's attempt to

keep the ball in play deflected off McKie. New Orleans then

inbounded and found David Wesley (13 points) for an open jumper.

At the other end, Traylor blocked Iverson's floater and

Armstrong pulled up for a 3 on the fast break, hitting it to put

New Orleans ahead 91-75 with 4:38 left. The Sixers never got within

double digits again.Game notes
Iverson, who refused to play in Detroit last Sunday when he

learned coach Chris Ford did not intend to start him, leaned over

the scorer's table to talk to a fan holding up a taunting poster.

The poster read: "Iverson, know your role," and had a drawing of

a bench. Iverson smiled and said, "You're sitting on the bench.

I'm in the game." ... With Jamal Mashburn and P.J. Brown out with

minor injuries, the Hornets dressed only 10 players. ...

Philadelphia has lost 12 of 14 road games. New Orleans, with seven

straight road losses, has won three in a row at home.