The New Orleans Hornets dominated the defending NBA champions the San Antonio Spurs for the second straight game to win 102-84 in the playoffs, Chris Paul scoring 30 points.

The Hornets, trailing by one point at half-time, dominated the third period to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semi-final series.

After chants of 'MVP! MVP!' had swept the stands for much of the game, Paul paid tribute to the home fans.

"It's our home crowd, our fans have really been coming out and supporting us, they motivate us, and we love playing here in front of our home crowd," Paul said.

Kobe Bryant of the Lakers is expected to be named the NBA's MVP on Tuesday, but Paul said just to be mentioned in the same breath was an honour.

"If Kobe wins it he absolutely deserves it, he had an outstanding year," Paul said. "His team won the Western Conference, he was unbelievable.

"There are a lot of great players in this league: just to be mentioned with them is an honour. This is just my third year so I have a long way to go."

David West led all scorers with 30 points in the Hornets' 101-82 win in the series opener. In the second game, the Spurs focused on stopping West and held him to just 10 points, resulting in more opportunities for Paul.

"My team-mates and my coach told me to be aggressive. David West was unbelievable in game one so I knew when I got to the lane I had to shoot the ball and make them honest," Paul said.

Peja Stojakovic added 25 points for the Hornets, who are the first team to lead the Spurs 2-0 in a series since the Los Angeles Lakers in 2001.

San Antonio's Tim Duncan scored 18 points just claiming only five in Game One. The series moves to San Antonio for Game Three on Thursday.

In the other playoff game on Monday, the Detroit Pistons took a 2-0 series lead in their Eastern Conference semi-final series with a 100-93 victory over the Orlando Magic at Auburn Hills.

Detroit's Chauncey Billups scored 28 points, including a disputed 3-point basket that came as time in the third quarter expired.

Tayshaun Prince added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Pistons, while Dwight Howard led Orlando with 22 points and 18 rebounds.

Game Three is on Wednesday in Orlando.

Reuters