Chris Paul dished out 16 assists and added 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting as the New Orleans Hornets opened their season with a 95-91 victory over the visiting Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday.

David West scored 22 points and Marco Bellinelli chipped in 18 for the Hornets, who got 27 points and 13 rebounds off the bench and gave Monty Williams a win in his NBA coaching debut.

Paul controlled the pace all game by working the pick-and-roll with West and committing only one turnover. He was consistently too strong for Bucks point guard Brandon Jennings.

New Orleans trailed, 72-67, with 1:51 left in the third period when Paul picked up the pace, assisting on Jason Smith’s three-point play and Peja Stojakovic’s 3-pointer while adding five points of his own as the Hornets took control with an 11-0 run to end the quarter.

The Bucks hung around in the final period, pulling within 92-91 on Carlos Delfino’s 3-pointer with 1:23 remaining. But Paul drew a foul on the next possession and sank both free throws to put it away.

Delfino scored 19 points and Jennings added 15 and 10 assists for Milwaukee. Center Andrew Bogut had 15 points and 15 rebounds in his first game since dislocating his elbow in April but was just 3-of-10 from the line with six misses in the final period.