New Orleans —- Just how long Chris Paul can carry a grudge remains to be seen.

But if his actions are any indication, the Hawks will continue to pay dearly for not drafting the former Wake Forest star with the second pick of the 2005 NBA draft.

The New Orleans Hornets point guard is 4-0 against the Hawks after Wednesday's 116-101 victory. Paul and the Hornets, who are fighting for playoff position in the stocked Western Conference, ran circles around the Hawks all night, piling up 35 assists to the Hawks' 18.

Paul, who finished with 23 points and 18 assists, had a double-double (15 points and 10 assists, and without a turnover) by halftime.

The Hornets were in complete control of the game by then, having worked the Hawks over from long range. They were 9-for-16 from beyond the 3-point line at halftime, similar to Golden State's success Tuesday night at Philips Arena.

"There's no excuses," said Hawks coach Mike Woodson, whose team has lost three consecutive games. "And I'm not going to make them for my team. Right now, it's all about urgency, and we can't keep hoping and wishing that somebody loses to help us get into the playoffs. I don't want it that way. We have to earn it. And right now we're not even playing like we want to be in the playoffs."

The Hawks gave up more than a dozen uncontested 3-pointers for the second consecutive night, showing cracks in their perimeter defense that every team they face the remainder of the season will try to exploit.

When Paul wasn't working them over, one of his backups was. Jannero Pargo scored 22 points off the bench and played with Paul during several stretches of the game, most notably the final seven minutes.

Peja Stojakovic was another beneficiary of Paul's masterful performance, scoring 29 points on 10-for-19 shooting. He was a huge reason why the Hornets tied a franchise record for 3-pointers made in a game with 15, sinking seven of his 11 attempts from long range.

"I don't know where that mentality came in," Josh Childress said of the Hawks' lousy defensive efforts in their past two games. "We've got to get it out of our heads because although we can score and score well, we've got to play some defense. Now."

While Paul controlled the flow of the game, Hornets center Tyson Chandler held down the paint. He finished with 14 points, 16 rebounds and two blocks, including a vicious swat of an Al Horford shot attempt that landed in the third row of the courtside seats in the third quarter.

Hornets rookie forward Julian Wright was also huge off the bench, finishing with 13 points and seven rebounds in only 22 minutes.

Even when the Hawks (24-35) appeared to be climbing back into the game —- they were within three at 62-59 with 8:32 to play in the third quarter —- it didn't seem like they were going to come all the way back.

A turnover and a 3-pointer from Stojakovic later, and order had been restored by the Hornets (41-19).

Hawks guards Joe Johnson and Mike Bibby turned in stellar scoring performances, combining for 45 points on 19-for-34 shooting. But Horford, Josh Smith and Marvin Williams, the player the Hawks chose with that No. 2 pick in '05, combined for only 31 points and never really seemed to get on track against the taller and more active Hornets frontcourt.