Chris Paul collected 20 points and 11 assists and David West added 17 and two key steals in the final seconds as the New Orleans Hornets edged the Dallas Mavericks, 99-97, on Wednesday.

Marco Belinelli chipped in 17 points and Emeka Okafor finished with 13 and 10 rebounds for New Orleans (9-1), which bounced back from its first loss of the season Monday at Dallas.

The Hornets, who came in leading the NBA in scoring defense, allowed the Mavericks to shoot 51 percent (20-of-39) in the first half and trailed, 52-42, at the break. Jason Kidd and DeShawn Stevenson combined to hit 5-of-6 3-pointers before the break for the Mavericks.

Dallas has been strong defensively as well, holding opponents to an NBA-best 42.2 percent shooting, and limited New Orleans to 37 percent (17-of-46) in the first two quarters.

But it was a completely different story in the third period as the Hornets knocked down 11 of their first 12 shots and led by as much as 69-59 after Chris Paul knocked down a 3-pointer with 3:59 left in the quarter.

The Mavericks came back to grab a 91-90 edge on Jason Terry's 3-pointer with 3:38 remaining, but the Hornets scored seven straight points to reclaim the lead and hung on down the stretch. West stripped Dirk Nowitzki, made a free throw, then intercepted a desperation pass.

Nowitzki scored 29 points and Terry added 16 off the bench for Dallas.