The game was the brain trust of New Orleans owner George Shinn to support the East Tennessee State University Athletic Department and the National Storytelling nba playoff Center.With Shinn as the prime sponsor, the contest was anointed a Hornets home game complete with the Hornet public address announcer, Hornet mascot and of course, the Hornet cheerleaders, affectionately known as the Honeybees.
The stars were on hand, too, specifically former Wake Forest star and three-time NBA all-star Chris nba playoff Paul for New Orleans as well as four-time all-star, former Arkansas star and new $119 million man Joe Johnson of the Hawks.For the Hornets, the game was their third in four days which meant an early exit for Paul and a night off for stars like Emaka Okafor and David West.The Hawks, meanwhile, hadnę° played since a Tuesday game against the Wizards in Washington. As a result, the sweet-shooting Johnson logged 32 minutes and scored a game-high 22 points in the 84-74 Atlanta victory, the first win under new head coach Larry Drew.Johnson admitted before the game, he knew little about where he was headed after the stop in Washington.