Camby

Chris Paul had 23 points, 17 assists and nine rebounds, and the host New Orleans Hornets ran away with their ninth straight win, 117-93, over the Denver Nuggets last night. A jubilant crowd broke into repeated chants of "M-V-P" in recognition of a masterful performance by the Hornets guard, who is the team's best shot at making the All-Star Game in New Orleans next month as a reserve. Even in a game featuring recently elected All-Star starter Allen Iverson, Paul was the best player on the floor.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The day before playing Tulsa in the East Regional semifinals, Massachusetts coach John Calipari said he was "scared to death" of the Golden Hurricane. He cited its huge front line, its hot backcourt of Shea Seals and Alvin Williamson, and the coaching of Tubby Smith, who guided the school from the unheralded Missouri Valley Conference into its second straight Sweet 16 appearance.But last night at the Meadowlands Arena, it was the Minutemen who put on a frightening performance, as UMass charged into its first Final Eight appearance with a dominating 76-51 victory before a sellout crowd.

Eastern Conf. finals: New York vs. Indiana The New York Knicks and Miami Heat might have their place among the NBA's great rivalries, but the one between the Knicks and Indiana Pacers hasn't been too shabby either. This marks the third straight year and the fifth time in the past seven seasons that the Knicks and Pacers will meet in the playoffs. Here's how they match up: Guards This could be where the series is decided. Everyone knows how fired up Reggie Miller gets when he plays the Knicks - who can forget the choke sign he gave New York groupie Spike Lee two years ago?

Point guardAvery Johnson vs. Charlie Ward: Johnson has done a great job hitting open shots during the playoffs, shooting an impressive 48.3 percent from the field. He has flourished since the Spurs went to the pick-and-roll earlier in the season, and is capable of beating a defender off the dribble. Ward is a starter in name only -- the bulk of the important minutes will go to Chris Childs, a solid defender who also hit several big three-pointers in the Indiana series.Edge: SpursShooting guardMario Elie vs. Allan Houston: Elie provides a toughness that the Spurs had lacked in the past.

MILWAUKEE -- Allen Iverson arrived in Denver in a league-shaking trade for one reason: to give the Nuggets a chance to win a playoff series. They haven't won in the postseason since 1994, and the sixth-seeded Nuggets face a difficult task against third-seeded San Antonio, a winner of 59 games. But the presence of Iverson as a complement to all-star forward Carmelo Anthony (Towson Catholic) could give Denver a realistic chance to spring a first-round upset. The Nuggets won 10 of 11 regular-season games in April, showing they would not be pushovers for Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and the savvy Spurs.

WEST POINT, N.Y. -- Fastest game on two feet, huh?Hofstra was second in the nation in goals allowed this season, Massachusetts ranked third, and their first-round game in the NCAA lacrosse tournament at Michie Stadium yesterday had about as much offensive pizazz as your standard World Cup soccer game.The eighth-seeded Minutemen claimed a 6-4 victory before 2,815 and a quarterfinal date with Princeton on Saturday (noon) at Hofstra. It matched the lowest-scoring game in tournament history, as Cornell beat North Carolina by the same score in 1988.

It cost the state of Maryland $11 million a few years ago to smooth the flow of traffic along Interstate 95 at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway toll plaza at Perryville, just northeast of the Millard Tydings Bridge and the Susquehanna River. But due to a lack of cooperation from neighboring Delaware, that improvement hasn't had the desired effect.Traffic zips freely southbound and moves fairly briskly northbound through tolls at the Maryland plaza, but for a buck and a quarter just up the road in Delaware you encounter a nearly constant bottleneck -- in both directions.

At Albany, N.Y.Game 1: Stanford (20-8) vs. Massachusetts (27-4).Time: 12:25 p.m.Outlook: UMass beat St. Peter's in the first round, but the Minutemen allowed the 15th-seeded Peacocks to lead until midway through the second half. Then UMass held St. Peter's without a basket the final 11 minutes. Marcus Camby led the Minutemen with 25 points and four blocked shots. Stanford came from five points behind in the final five minutes to beat North Carolina-Charlotte in the opening round. The Cardinal did it with nearly flawless free-throw shooting and patience on offense.

BaseballCardinals: Signed two-year contract with Single-A Prince William.Expos: Activated P Rheal Cormier from 15-day DL.Giants: Recalled P Kirk Rueter from Triple-A Phoenix. Optioned P Shawn Barton to Phoenix.Pirates: Activated P Steve Parris and P Elmer Dessens from DL.Red Sox: Assigned 1B Greg Pirkl outright to Triple-A Pawtucket.Royals: Recalled IF Chris Stynes, OF Roderick Myers, C Henry Mercedes, P Jeff Granger and P Bryan Bevil from Triple-A Omaha.BasketballHornets: Extended contract of VP of basketball operations Bob Bass through 1997-98.