Portland in

fourth place

in the West

JOE FREEMAN

NEW ORLEANS --In one of their most discouraging and embarrassing performances of the season, the Trail Blazers dropped their seventh consecutive road game to the New Orleans Hornets . . .

Wait, hold that thought . . .

Chris Paul just left the game with a right groin injury. Jerryd Bayless is driving to the basket with reckless abandon. Travis Outlaw is hitting clutch shot after clutch shot. Joel Przybilla is playing stalwart defense on David West. . . .

Let's try this again.

In one of the most improbable and exhilarating victories in recent memory, the Blazers erased a 20-point, third-quarter deficit to defeat the Hornets 97-89 on Monday night, rescuing the opening game of a pivotal three-game trip and stunning 14,781 at New Orleans Arena.

After playing what LaMarcus Aldridge called "sluggish" and looking what Bayless called "dead" for the better part of three quarters, the Blazers (30-17) outscored New Orleans 38-15 in an astonishing fourth quarter that won't soon be forgotten. It was the Blazers' biggest comeback victory since Nov. 10, 2006, when they overcame a 26-point deficit, also against New Orleans.

"No quit," Bayless said. "We had no quit. I think it just shows that this team is really starting to come together and we don't have any quit inside of us. If we continue to play like that, the sky's the limit."

The first sign of Blazers' life came with 1:30 remaining in the third quarter, when Paul, the Hornets' do-everything All-Star point guard, crumpled to the floor after tweaking his groin with New Orleans leading 72-55. Paul's exit seemed to simultaneously suck the life out of the Hornets and inject hope into the beleaguered Blazers.

"As soon as Paul went down, I said 'We're going to come back,' " Blazers All-Star guard Brandon Roy said.

Bayless, perhaps the most instrumental Blazer in the rally, started the momentum by scoring the first four points of the fourth quarter, including two on a soaring fast-break dunk after registering a steal. Then, after David West temporarily stopped the bleeding by hitting one of New Orleans' five fourth-quarter field goals, the Blazers took over.

Przybilla scored a layup on a pretty pass from Rudy Fernandez, Outlaw swished a 17-foot jumper and Bayless scored five points in a row, three on a scintillating fast-break layup and subsequent free throw, and two more on another fast-break dunk.

Aldridge hit a running hook shot, Bayless and Roy added driving layups, and Aldridge followed his own miss with a rebound tip to bring the Blazers within 79-78. Then they took their first lead since the game's opening seconds when Fernandez swished a three-pointer with 6:15 remaining, making the score 81-79.

Peja Stojakovic made two free throws and West added a layup to keep the Hornets close, but it wasn't enough as the Blazers took an 89-83 lead and effectively iced the game.

"Anything can happen in a 48-minute game," said Roy, who labored through his worst game of the season (2 of 10 shooting, six points, three turnovers). "Chris Paul got hurt and we took advantage of their misfortune. We didn't wait. We had an opportunity, guys stayed aggressive out there. We started to attack them and finally made some shots. Thirty-eight points in a quarter, especially in the fourth? That's big."

By the time the final buzzer sounded, these were the lopsided fourth-quarter statistics: The Blazers shot 66.7 percent from the field (14 of 21), out-rebounded New Orleans 16-5, held an 18-10 edge in the paint and transformed a 15-point disadvantage into an eight-point victory. The Hornets shot 26.3 percent in the fourth (5 of 19, including 0 of 6 from three-point range) and had just two assists without Paul, who had 12 points and 13 assists before his injury.

Blazers coach Nate McMillan spread the postgame praise around, pointing out Fernandez's energy off the bench (15 points, three three-pointers and eight rebounds), Aldridge's steady performance (22 points, 11 rebounds), Outlaw's late heroics (eight of his 16 points came in the fourth quarter) and Przybilla's rugged defense on West in the fourth.

But a healthy amount of the praise was bestowed upon Bayless, who had 11 points, two steals and two assists in the spectacular fourth quarter to finish with 19 points, six assists and one gigantic spark.

"Everybody was just dead out there," Bayless said of the Blazers. "I was just trying to be a spark for us and get us going. I needed to do something."

The victory moved the Blazers into sole possession of fourth place in the Western Conference, ahead of the Hornets (28-17), and delivered New Orleans its first three-game losing streak of the season. It also ended Portland's seven-game road losing streak to the Hornets and improved the Blazers' road record to 12-12 heading into Wednesday night's matchup at Dallas.

"This (win) is about growing up, maturing and doing it amongst yourselves, the 12 players and the coaches, on the road," McMillan said. "We're still not there yet. There's a lot of room for improvement with our guys but . . . tonight they didn't give in . . . "

Notes:

Starting point guard Steve Blake did not make the trip for the Blazers so that he could continue to rehabilitate his separated right shoulder. . . . Paul is scheduled to undergo a magnetic resonance imaging test today to evaluate the extent of his groin injury. . . . Przybilla had 10 rebounds for the Blazers. . . . West finished with 25 points and eight rebounds but had just eight points in the fourth quarter. . . . It was just the third time this season Roy has failed to reach double figures in scoring.

Joe Freeman: 503-294-5183; joefreeman@news.oregonian.com To read his Behind the Beat blog, go to http://blog.oregonlive.com/ behindblazersbeat/