Grizzlies stun Spurs, Hornets sting Lakers

---

SAN ANTONIO (Texas), Apr 18: The New Orleans Hornets shocked the two-time defending NBA champion Lakers and upstart Memphis edged top-seeded San Antonio Sunday in a pair of Western Conference playoff opener upsets. Seventh-seeded New Orleans beat the Lakers 109-100 and Memphis defeated the Spurs 101-98. The day's Western Conference action was to wrap up later with Oklahoma City hosting Denver. Chris Paul had 33 points, 14 assists and seven rebounds for the Hornets as they seized the initiative over the Lakers in the first game of their best-of- seven series. "Our defence was late. We were late on everything," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "They were aggressive and beat us to balls." Memphis posted their first-ever NBA post-season win by stunning the top- seeded Spurs at the AT&T Center arena. - AFP