Ah, that's better. With the Spurs looming later today, the Hornets could well have been heading into their two-day Christmas break with a six-game losing streak, but their 100-97 OT win over the Grizzlies yesterday means that ain't gonna happen.

It's still shitty that it takes overtime to beat a 6-20 team on your home court, but I think you can make the argument that the Grizzlies are the better team on paper right now with Pau Gasol back from injury, especially when he goes off for 28 points and 9 rebounds like he did yesterday.

So, this is good. Good this is. The usual…

• Linkage: box | recap | video | photos
• The final few seconds in regulation were bitchin', with Chris Paul going coast-to-coast and for a lay-up and a two-point lead, crossing up Damon Stoudamire freaky-like in the process. That left six seconds on the clock, enough time for Gasol to go right at Linton Johnson for the tie.
• Overtime saw both teams trade baskets until Mason scored off a dish by Marc Jackson with 0:25 left, and a turnover by Chucky Atkins pretty much sealed it. The Hornets caught a break with Pau being pulled halfway through the OT. The reason: "I can't play over a certain amount of minutes, and my time was up."

  Cool.

• Highlight of the game wasn't CP's clutch hoop, but Desmond Mason's vicious put-back slam over Alexander Johnson off a missed Tyson Chandler free-throw in the third quarter. Video of that right here.
• Devin Brown made his first appearance for the Hornets yesterday, starting the second quarter and getting some burn in the fourth, too. He didn't exactly have the best debut ever, picking up two quick fouls when he first checked in, then bricking four three-pointers in the fourth. He finished with zero points in ten minutes. Whoops.

  By the way, Brown is wearing number 23, which I guess means the Hornets won't be retiring JR Smith's jersey. Sometimes the world just doesn't make sense.

• Hmm, I'm not sure I've shaved since the Hornets last won a game. Might take care of that today.
• The Hornets did a great job on the boards, out-rebounding the Grizz 57-37. Crashing hard were Tyson Chandler (17), Desmond Mason (12) and Marc Jackson (10).
• As for the scoring load, it was a balanced effort, with six guys scoring in double figures. Marc Jackson led the way with 19 off the bench, while Jannero Pargo also came strong off the pine for 17 points. CP scored 15 and dished 14, while Hilton Armstrong finally broke out of his funk with 14 points and 5 boards.
• On the other side, the guys over at The Beale Street Beat aren't happy with the way Mike Fratello is distributing the PT.

The Hornets need to change gears big-time today as they host the 20-7 Spurs, who were on a five-game winning streak before getting blown out at home by the McGradyless Rockets last night. Final score was 97-78.

The Spurs crucified the Bugs last week, 103-77 in New Orleans. Refresh. That was the game Chandler missed with the stomach thing.

It's going to be a tough game for the Hornets, not just because of the quality of the opponent, but also because Mason, Butler and Paul all played at least 40 minutes last night, with CP logging 48. I'd be surprised of that doesn't show against San Antonio.

After last night's game, Mason called the win a "huge momentum builder". We'll see.

Tip is at 7pm CT. Out.

• AP game preview
• Spurs team stats
• Pounding the Rock
• San Antonio Express News
• The official site of Devin Brown