New Orleans Hornets cruised to a convincing 96-80 victory over the Washington Wizards in an NBA preseason game in Berlin on Tuesday.

Chris Paul had eight assists and scored four points to help the Hornets jump out to an 18-0 lead. He played the entire first and third quarters and sat out the other two, finishing with 11 assists and nine points.

Hornets coach Byron Scott said he was trying to keep Paul fresh after a long summer in which Paul helped the U.S. Olympic team win gold in Beijing.

It was the first of two games between the Hornets and Wizards in the NBA's annual preseason tour of Europe. They will meet again on Friday in Barcelona.

The injury-plagued Wizards did not score until 5 minutes into the game when Darius Songalia scored off an offensive rebound.

The Hornets built on their lead in the second quarter, relying largely on their reserves.

Hornets reserve forward Rasual Butler scored 12 points.

James Posey hit a 3-pointer as the Hornets closed the first half with a 9-0 run to take a 61-24 lead into the break.

For the Wizards, the European tour is a chance to test their rookies and learn to work with a short bench. Three key Wizards players remained in Washington to nurse injuries.

Washington outscored the Hornets 22-15 in the third quarter, led by guard DeShawn Stevenson's three 3-pointers. Stevenson hit five 3-pointers and finished with 15 points.

(Xinhua News Agency October 15, 2008)