"We've just got to realize with games like this that we can compete with anybody at any time," Williams said. "This is the kind of effort we've got to have home and road and night in, night out."

One night after New Orleans snapped the Lakers' 15-game home winning streak, the Jazz cruised to victory, holding the Hornets to 13 points in the second quarter and riding Paul Millsap's 27 points and 14 rebounds, good for his 19th consecutive double-double.

The Jazz's victory was tempered by the loss of C.J. Miles, who suffered a moderate right ankle sprain when he landed on James Posey's foot on a third-quarter jumper. Miles was wearing a walking boot after the game.Millsap set the tone on a night the Jazz outrebounded the Hornets 55-26. He also slowed David West, who finished with 13 points and six rebounds but went 4 of 14 with three turnovers. West had matched his career-high with 40 points against the Lakers.

"I don't know what we're going to do with Millsap, he keeps getting better every game," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said.

"It's really exciting to see a guy, the opportunity came to him, he took advantage of it and really helped himself and used his determination to try to make himself a better player. We wish all our young guys could take that route. If they did, I think we'd all be a lot happier."

Williams improved to 9-2 against Paul, then tucked a prescription in his pocket and went home to get some rest. He had been bothered by a sore throat the past couple of days, before taking a nap Tuesday and waking up congested with a headache.

Although he never considered sitting out, Williams struggled from the start, committing three early turnovers and twice getting screened out of plays by Tyson Chandler. Paul picked up a foul only 32 seconds in, but had 12 points and four assists in the first quarter.

"I think I might die tomorrow," Williams joked, adding, "I just had no energy. I was dizzy. Trying to chase the blur around."

The Hornets led 33-29 after the first quarter, but faded throughout the second. As the Jazz turned to a zone defense, New Orleans went 2 of 13 in the quarter, including 1 of 7 from three-point range, and headed into halftime trailing 58-46. It brought back memories of the Hornets' seven-point fourth quarter in a 99-71 loss to the Jazz in November 2007, when New Orleans also fizzled against a zone. The Hornets have lost by 28, 22 and 26 points their past three games in Utah.

Millsap sparked the Jazz with two follow-up baskets, the second of which came as he dunked off Kyle Korver's missed three-pointer as part of a three-point play. The Jazz pushed ahead with a 9-0 run that saw Korver finally break out of a shooting slump.

Korver hit two three-pointers in the second quarter after going 0-for-4 in Monday's victory over Golden State and 0-for-2 to open Wednesday's game. He finished with 15 points as the Jazz's bench outscored New Orleans' 48-28.

Millsap opened the second half by scoring nine of the Jazz's first 13 points.

The Jazz led by as many as 33 points as the Hornets packed their bags and headed home from a four-game trip coach Byron Scott still deemed a success.

"I thought we had a lot of energy in the first quarter," Scott said, "and then we didn't have anything left."

Neither Williams nor Paul played in the fourth quarter. Williams said afterward his record against Paul held little significance since the two friendly rivals rarely talk about Basketball in the first place. "I definitely like beating him, though," Williams added.

rsiler@sltrib.com Jazz 116, Hornets 90

IN SHORT ? Even a sick Deron Williams can't stop the Jazz from cruising to a 26-point victory over New Orleans.

KEY MOMENT ? Kyle Korver connects on two three-pointers as the Jazz win the second quarter 29-13.

KEY STAT ? The Hornets go 2 of 13 overall and 1 of 7 from three-point range during their 13-point second quarter. Williams vs. Paul

The first showdown of the season between Deron Williams and Chris Paul fizzled, with neither playing in the fourth quarter of the Jazz's blowout victory: