Hornets, Spurs play Game 7 tonight

NEW ORLEANS -- If the young New Orleans Hornets are nervous about tonight's Game 7 against the defending champion San Antonio Spurs, it didn't show after practice Sunday

Tyson Chandler joked that having three days off after Thursday's Game 6 loss helped his conditioning because he was able to spend more time with his 2-year-old daughter.

"She may be a little tougher to chase around than Tim Duncan," Chandler said. "She's been a handful out there -- no disrespect to Tim Duncan. He knows he's my guy."

No Hornets team has advanced to a conference finals in the 20-year history of the franchise. However, this squad, led by first-year All-Stars Chris Paul and David West, already has led the organization to new heights, including a franchise-record 56 victories in the regular season.

That mark earned the Hornets the second seed in the Western Conference and what seems to be an all-important home advantage in this second-round series. The home team has won every game by double digits. The Hornets have yet to lose in six home playoff games during the first two rounds of the playoffs.

This is also the first time the Hornets have faced elimination in these playoffs, something the Spurs overcame in Game 6 in San Antonio, when the Spurs blew out the Hornets, led by Manu Ginobili's 25 points.

Although the Spurs have won four NBA titles in the previous nine seasons, they've never won two back-to-back. They've also never fought back from a 2-0 playoff series deficit, which they had early on in this series.

-- AP