As Chris Paul goes, so go the Hornets.

Game 1- Paul torches the Lakers for 33 points (including 17 of the final 24), 14 assists and 7 rebounds. Hornets win, 109-100.

Game 2 - He's less assertive, is pushed to the sides and has an average 20-point, 9 assist performance. Hornets lose, 87-78.

Game 3 - After a strong first half, Paul almost completely defers to his teammates and rarely looks to drive to the bucket. After 18 points and 3 assists in the first half, he has just 4 points and 5 assists in the second. Hornets lose, 100-86.

Last night, he was back to playing how he did in Game 1; like one of the best players in the world. Paul recorded his second career triple-double with 27 points, 15 assists and a career-high 13 rebounds (more on this later). This is the Chris Paul the Hornets need to stand a chance in this series. The entire offense must run through him on nearly every play because the Hornets aren't talented enough to win any other way. When the ball is in his hands and he is making plays they have a chance to beat anyone.

I don't know what happened to CP3 in the second half of Game 3 but it was like night and day from how he performed last night. Not only was he ultra-aggressive last night, but he beat the Lakers in so many ways they never had a chance to adjust.

At first he was driving and kicking it out to jump shooters. But his teammates couldn't help him out by knocking down the open looks. In the first half, the Hornets made just 3 of 9 wide-open jumpers. The biggest culprit was Marco Belinelli who has been atrocious all series long. Belinelli went 3 for 11 last night to bring his total for the series to 11 for 37 (30-percent).

With his teammates not knocking down shots, Paul penetrated into the lane, stopped short, and passed out of double teams often for layups and dunks. The Lakers' paint defense isn't all that effective when both 7-footers are sucked out to help out on the diminutive guard.

In the second half, Paul created for himself. He scored 23 of his 27 points after half including 14 of the Hornets' 24 in the fourth. He hit from the outside, he hit mid-range jumpers, he made layups and he made all 11 of his free throw attempts. The Lakers had no answers. The pick and rolls were working, often leaving Andrew Bynum to attempt to guard him one-on-one. The Lakers didn't switch back quick enough if they even attempted to switch back at all and Paul made them pay. And if scoring 14 of their 24 in the fourth didn't sound dominating enough, he assisted on the only two field goals he didn't make. The only points he wasn't directly involved in were 5 free throws.

Paul also got something he had been sorely lacking - a second scorer who could create for himself. Trevor Ariza was huge in the first half. He has been struggling with his jump shot, so instead chose to take the ball to the basket. He was 8 of 12 with 16 points heading into the half with 6 of those shots coming from close range.

Chris Paul had a big game. He had a HUGE game. But no matter how other-worldly his performance was, there is no way he should be getting 13 rebounds against the Lakers. Not once this entire season did he grab double-digit rebounds. How does he wind up with the same amount of rebounds as Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum combined?

As great as CP3 was, the Lakers don't lose this game if their front line has even a decent game. Gasol, Bynum and Odom combined to shoot 10 for 26 and grab just 17 rebounds. LA was outrebounded 39-32 and were outscored on second chance points 20-4. The only explanation for that is lack of effort. Gasol and Odom are too big to finish with just 4 rebounds a piece. No matter how poorly this trio shoots, there is no reason for them not grabbing boards.

There were also a litany of awful plays and missed shots in the fourth. Here's just a quick rundown:
-Bynum missed an uncontested layup and on the other end the Hornets hit a 3-pointer (5-point swing)
-Bryant missed a wide open 3-pointer to tie it at 83 and then Paul was fouled and hit both free throws (5-point swing)
-Bryant twisted his ankle and fell into Willie Green as the shot clock was winding down that resulted in one free throw.
-Gasol couldn't handle a great pass from Bryant that would've yielded an unconstested layup. He then fouled Paul who hit a couple free throws (4-point swing).
-Gasol missed a free throw to cut the lead to 3 with 1 minute remaining.

This is what we've come to expect from the Lakers - nothing. We don't know whether they will play like champions or play like this is just another regular season game. If the Lakers front line plays with passion then even a dominant Chris Paul can't beat them. But if they play like they did last night, than Paul and the Hornets have a chance in this series.