* Antonio Daniels has been with New Orleans less than a week but already he’s struck up a friendship with Chris Paul. The two were joking around in the locker room and warmed up together on the court before the game.

* I was able to score an exclusive chat with Julian Wright before the game that I’ll be posting within the next few days. Last year Wright was a big part of the Hornets run in the playoffs but this year he’s seen his minutes cut drastically. He was humble talking about the experience, why he’s had fewer minutes and what he’s doing to prepare when his number is called.

* Before the game Morris Peterson was trying to film a segment for The Score and Hilton Armstrong and Rasual Butler were clowning around trying to distract him.

* Going into the game Chris Paul had recorded a steal in 103-consecutive games and with a steal tonight he set himself up to  tie former Raptor guard Alvin Robertson on Tuesday when New Orleans plays Memphis. Before the game Byron Scott talked at length about this and after the game Chris Paul provided some great quotes that I’ll use for a story which I’ll post Tuesday morning.

* Chris Bosh got off to an uncharacteristically slow start shooting 0-for-5 from the field. While he had four rebounds in the first quarter he also had a couple rebounds slip through his fingers and seemed to be having an off game. Bosh finished with a team high 25 points but he scored 13 of those points from the free throw line and was an uncharacteristic 6-for-17 from the field.

* Andrea Bargnani may not have flashy stats tonight but I was impressed by what I saw from him. He was being aggressive taking his man off the dribble, he was shooting without hesitation when he was open and he was back to attacking the glass. Even though he only scored four points in 11 minutes of burn, it’s clear that his confidence is starting to come back.

* James Posey was on fire beyond the arc in the first half going 5-6 while scoring all 15 of his points. Even more impressive was the fact Posey wasn’t even looking for anything inside the arc. All six of his field goal attempts were beyond the arc as he would camp outside the three-point line and when a Raptor defender would sag off him Posey would make them pay by sticking a huge three.

* Jamario Moon had a nice block on Rasual Butler’s dunk attempt late in the second quarter.

* The entire Hornets bench stayed standing to start the second half until Chris Paul hit a jumper at the 10:30 mark of the third quarter.

* At the 3:12 mark of the third quarter the Hornets on the court mysteriously converged before Chris Bosh’s second free throw attempt. After Bosh hit the free throw the Hornets then pushed the ball all the way up the court in four seconds which caught the Raptors defense off guard and allowed Chris Paul to earn a trip to the free throw line after he was hammered on his drive to the hoop.

* Jose Calderon went a sizzling 8-8 from the field and 5-5 from beyond the arc. After the game a reporter asked about his night shooting the ball and the Spaniard shrugged off the question by saying, “It happens sometimes. It’s not like a big thing, it doesn’t matter. Today it went in, others day no. I just need to keep doing my thing and get everyone involved.”

* While Calderon wasn’t willing to brag about a solid night his counterpart, Chris Paul, was more than willing. When asked about Calderon’s game Paul’s face brightened up and he boasted, “Calderon shot the ball incredibly well. He was what, 8-8 from the field? He kept the pressure on (us).”

* Late in the fourth quarter Calderon threw Moon an alleyoop and Moon nearly hit his head on the bottom of the backboard trying to soar through the air. A couple possessions later Moon soared about the rim for a rebound and was knocked to the ground. You’ve got to hand it to Moon for playing with reckless abandon after he left Friday’s game with his ribs wrapped.

* Chris Paul made a genius play late in the fourth quarter which saved his team from taking a timeout. With just over three minutes remaining in the game James Posey hit the floor hard after a basket by Jermaine O’Neal. Instead of burning a timeout to let Posey regain his composure, Paul didn’t touch the inbound pass until Posey found his way to his feat. At the time New Orleans only had three timeouts remaining and with a seven point game it looked like they would need all of them. On the flip side, you have to wonder why a Raptor guard didn’t pick up on this and press the inbound pass which would have forced New Orleans to waste a timeout.

* When asked about his big night shooting the rock, a modest Posey shrugged his shoulders and told the media, “We did a great job today of running out stuff and making the extra pass. We have some very unselfish players on this team and we’re not scared to make the extra pass. The shots just fell for us tonight.”

* Posey got a fair amount of ribbing from teammates after the game when he decided to brush his teeth at his locker instead of in the sink in the washroom.

* Even though New Orleans might appear to be on a slow pace to start the season, they only had 13 wins through their first 18 games last season. Heading into the season they were heralded as being one of the top teams in the NBA but injuries to Tyson Chandler and having a bullseye on their backs have caused them to get off to a 12-7 start to the season after a loss to Boston on Friday. Today they improved to 13-7 on the season and Chris Paul feels they have the pieces in place to win an NBA Championship this season. After the game a confident Paul was asked by a reporter if his team can go all the way and he boasted, “We can, but we’re a long way away.”

* In the games prior to Sam Mitchell’s dismissal there seemed to be a cloud of frustration hovering over the Raptors locker room. Normally the players don’t like to lose but it seemed that the losses that mounted late in Mitchell’s tenure was something the players couldn’t shake. Even though the team was disappointed over the loss today, it seemed the players were able to cope with the loss. Don’t get it twisted, they weren’t happy with the loss, but they were at peace with the strides the team is making and the direction the club is headed. O’Neal addressed this after the game when he admitted to reporters, “Overall it seems to be getting better.  We feel more and more positive about the direction we’re going in and we know what we can do. I think the route looks a lot more clear now than it did the past few weeks.” Calderon also addressed this when he told the media, “Everyone’s feeling comfortable with the way we’re playing now. We’re going to be okay. I keep being positive because I feel like each day my teammates are getting a little bit better.”

* After the game Jermaine O’Neal was asked how he felt about the teams execution on the defensive end and he paused before admitting, “It’s getting better. Chris Paul puts extreme pressure on teams defensively with how he handles the ball and with his quickness. We tried a couple different things that worked but he’s probably one of the best ballhandlers that we’ve seen in awhile. He keeps probing and you’ve got to honour that because if you don’t stop him then he’s going to lay it up.”

* It was interesting to see Chris Bosh walk out of the Raptors locker room with a Chris Paul jersey. When asked why he had an opponents jersey, Bosh cracked a smile and told the reporter, “That’s my Olympic teammate, we have that bond.”

* New Orleans is now 9-3 with Rasual Butler in the starting line-up.

* The Raptors PR team sent out a press release this weekend about the current tally on All-Star voting. Chris Bosh is fourth among Eastern Conference forwards (274,195 votes), Jermaine O’Neal is fourth among centres (75,324 votes) and Jose Calderon is fifth among Eastern Conference guards (124,705 votes). LeBron James (643,786 votes) and Kevin Garnett (495,514) lead all Eastern Conference forwards,  Dwyane Wade (623,311 votes) and Allen Iverson (492,093) lead guards while Dwight Howard (775,933 votes) is running away with the centre votes.

* Today was Right To Play night at the Air Canada Centre. Right to Play is the foundation that Jose Calderon is associated with and it’s a great organization that I urge you to check out. According to their website: “Right To Play is an international humanitarian organization that uses sport and play programs to improve health, develop life skills, and foster peace for children and communities in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the world. Working in both the humanitarian and development context, Right To Play trains local community leaders as Coaches to deliver our programs in more than 20 countries affected by war, poverty, and disease in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, guides our work. Right To Play programs target the most marginalized including girls, the disabled, children affected by HIV and AIDS, street children, former child combatants and refugees.”

*  Thanks for reading my Game Notes for the game this afternoon! Make sure you check back on tomorrow night for my notes on the game between Toronto and New Jersey.

Photo Credit: Chris Creamer’s Sports Logos