Although the New Orleans Hornets listed him as having a bone bruise on his right knee, guard Eric Gordon admitted Tuesday his injury was more serious, involving cartilage damage. Gordon said arthroscopic surgery was performed last week to remove cartilage debris from his knee. Before Gordon gave details Tuesday, Hornets officials had only disclosed that a surgical procedure was performed to clean up his right knee.

“First off, you can label it as a bone bruise, or say so,’’ Gordon said. “Of course, it was a little more serious than that. It was a little bit of cartilage damage that came about, but nothing more serious than that.

“I had a little cartilage debris. That happens when you have damage to a cartilage, and that was that — and I needed it. I’ve never had surgery before. All you can do is listen to the doctors as far as moving forward, and I know the timing sucked, but no one knew how serious it was. We went through multiple doctors, and the only way we could find out is (to) go in there.’’

Gordon also admitted he first experienced pain his right knee when he still was with the Los Angeles Clippers, before a blockbuster trade that sent him to the Hornets, with Al-Farouq Aminu and Chris Kaman, in exchange for All-Star point guard Chris Paul.

“At that time I thought it was nothing serious because I was fine and nothing was swollen,’’ Gordon said.

Gordon has not played since Jan. 4, against the Philadelphia 76ers. He has played in two games this season, including the Dec. 26 opener against the Phoenix Suns. Gordon said after the Phoenix game he could barely walk after bumping knees with forward Grant Hill.

The Hornets announced after last Monday’s victory against the Utah Jazz that he needed surgery.

“After consulting with our medical staff, we concluded that surgery was the best route and in the best interest of Eric for the long term,’’ New Orleans General Manager Dell Demps said in a statement issued last week. “We had hoped for rest and rehab, Eric’s knee would have healed.’’

After he needed to have his knee drained repeatedly and swelling continued, surgery became the next option, Gordon said.

“When you’ve got doctors taking out fluid multiple times, it’s time to do something,’’ Gordon said. “It was no secret that fluid was being pulled out. When you have a couple of doctors looking at MRI’s, they all have different opinions. They all equaled out the same. Some people thought I didn’t need it (surgery). Some people thought I might, if it didn’t work. It was a situation you can’t really control.’’

Gordon, who is expected to miss at least five more weeks, said he knows his injury situation might have a negative impact for some Hornets fans.

“Some people might think since I’m injured I might not want to be here,’’ Gordon said. “People might think I may not be happy, but at that same time this was an injury I could not control.

“I always look forward to playing here. If we had a full team throughout the year, maybe we would be a playoff team. I look forward to helping the guys out whenever I get back toward the end of the year. We’ll see how exciting it will be when I get back.’’

In practice, New Orleans Hornets guard Marco Belinelli persistently works to make shots he’ll likely attempt in games. Although he shows a push to improve, Belinelli’s shooting percentage has dropped from last season — 43.7 to 39.5 percent — and his scoring average has slipped from 10.5 to 9.7 points.

Belinelli leads New Orleans with 37 3-pointers made, but he has twice as many attempts as anyone else on the team with 107.

“I know that’s not really good for me because I knew this year I needed to score more,” Belinelli said. “I think the last couple of games were pretty good, but I need to be more aggressive every game.”

In the Hornets’ 94-86 loss to the visiting Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night, Belinelli scored 12 points but missed five of seven shots in the fourth quarter.

New Orleans re-signed Belinelli as a restricted free agent in December, extending him a one-year, $3.3 million contract.

“We have to keep him confident and don’t let him go through a shell or get bashed for it,” Hornets point guard Jarrett Jack said. “He’s a gunslinger, and he’s got to come out with that kind of mentality every night.

“This league is up and down, and there are going to be peaks and valleys. Only a few guys stay on an even keel all season, but his shots are going to fall for him.”

The Hornets (4-23) need all the help they can get, especially from players like Belinelli, who is familiar with Coach Monty Williams’s system after playing last season.

Williams said one of the problems they are having is trying to integrate several young players into the lineup. The Hornets also have struggled with injury problems.

Going into tonight’s game against the Utah Jazz at the New Orleans Arena, the Hornets have lost eight consecutive games and 23 of 25 overall. They have lost 14 of 16 at the Arena.

“Most people don’t expect for us to be in games,” Williams said. “From that standpoint, guys like Marco should be able to go out and play free. Last year we would be up by eight or 10 points, and Marco would miss a shot and it wasn’t that big of a deal.

“Now he misses a shot, I kind of have to check myself on that — but we would like for him to get him more consistent from that spot. Marco is probably playing more minutes than he should. Therefore, those guys tend to get more tired. That’s more pressure.’’

As a motivational ploy, Williams demoted Belinelli from the starting lineup, replacing him with DaJuan Summers, who was waived by the Hornets last week despite starting six games.

When Williams returned Belinelli to the starting lineup, he said the experiment didn’t work with trying to inject something new after moving Summers from small forward to shooting guard.

For most of the season, Belinelli has got open shots because opposing defenses have turned their attention on limiting the Hornets’ inside scoring. New Orleans is shooting 29.3 percent from 3-point range, which ranks 27th in the league.

“I just want to be ready when he (Williams) calls me and do my best,” Belinelli said. “It’s tough because last year was a different team. There was a double team every time C.P. (Chris Paul) had the ball, and I got open more.’’

QUICK HITS: Williams said he doesn’t know how Hornets center Chris Kaman got injured during warm-ups before Friday night’s game against the Trail Blazers. Kaman sprained his left ankle and had it heavily wrapped during Sunday’s practice at the Arena. … Jack could miss up to a week with a bruised left knee that he re-aggravated last week against the visiting Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night after playing 27 minutes.

“I was playing through it for four or five games before that, but it got to the point that I couldn’t perform like myself — and I was doing the team a disservice,” Jack said.

Desperate to end a three-game losing streak, the New Orleans Hornets got needed help Wednesday night with the return of shooting guard Eric Gordon, who had missed the previous four games with a bruised right knee. But even with Gordon scoring a team-high 22 points, it wasn’t enough for the Hornets to prevent a 101-93 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in front of 12,387 at the New Orleans Arena.

The Hornets (2-4) were ineffective again in the fourth quarter as their losing streak reached four games.

This time they blew a six-point lead after turning the ball over six times and allowing 60 percent shooting (12 of 20) in the final period by the 76ers. The Hornets, who have not won since a Dec. 28 game against the Boston Celtics, were outscored 34-20 in the quarter.

In every game during the streak, they have been outscored in the fourth quarter, including 24-16 in Monday night’s 94-90 loss to the Utah Jazz.

“We have to look at film before I make a rash decision,’’ Hornets coach Monty Williams said. “I know there are some things I can do better to help our guys.’’

It was Gordon’s first game back since he made the winning shot with 4.2 seconds remaining in New Orleans’ season-opening 85-84 victory against the Phoenix Suns on Dec. 26.

Unlike his game in Phoenix, Gordon missed six of seven shots in the fourth quarter Wednesday night. He finished 8-of-22 and went 1-of-6 from 3-point range.

“We had too many lapses on defense where they hit some tough shots and we weren’t scoring offensively,’’ Gordon said. “We hurt ourselves by taking too many jump shots and not attacking the rim.’’

Gordon opened the game by hitting his first four shots, including a 3-pointer. His 11-point first quarter helped the Hornets take an early 13-point lead that eventually went to 14 before the first half ended with the Hornets leading 47-40.

Behind Gordon’s 20 points, the Hornets led 73-67 after three quarters, but they could not hold their momentum.

“I told our guys when you look back at a game like this, average teams lose, and teams that want to be good they find a way to win,’’ Philadelphia coach Doug Collins said.

Forward Thaddeus Young’s dunk spurred a 6-0 run that enabled the 76ers to surge ahead 89-83 with 4:18 remaining. Hornets guard Jarrett Jack made two free throws and a close-range shot to cut the deficit to 89-87.

However, point guard Jrue Holiday answered by hitting his third 3-pointer in the quarter that allowed 76ers to extend their lead to 98-89 with 46.7 seconds remaining. Besides Holiday scoring 14 of his game-high 23 points in the fourth, Philadelphia had five steals in the quarter.

“Holiday made some big plays for them down the stretch, but we should have never been in that position,’’ said Hornets backup center Chris Kaman, who scored 10 points and had eight rebounds.

John Reid can be reached at jreid@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3407.

Posted: Wednesday, January 04, 2012, 10:38 PM

Scores 22 in first game back following injury.

Posted: Wednesday, January 04, 2012, 10:36 PM

Starting PG has double-double in fourth straight loss.

Posted: Wednesday, January 04, 2012, 10:34 PM

Backup had 10 points, eight rebounds in 101-93 loss.

Posted: Wednesday, January 04, 2012, 5:10 PM

T-P Hornets beat reporter John Reid previews tonight’s Hornets-Philadelphia 76ers game at New Orleans Arena.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP)—Al Jefferson scored 22 points and Devin Harris added
19 points, including a late 3-pointer and three free throws down the stretch as
the Utah Jazz beat the New Orleans Hornets 94-90 on Monday night.

Josh Howard scored 13 points off the bench for the Jazz, including six
straight in the fourth quarter to tie the score at 80. C.J. Miles had 11 points
and four rebounds as the Jazz (2-3) won their second at home to offset three
blowout losses on the road.

Jarrett Jack scored a season-high 27 points for New Orleans (2-3), which
dropped its third straight. The Hornets continued to struggle from 3-point
range, making just 3 of 10 shots.

Utah trailed by as many as seven points early but had a 32-point
second-quarter, with key contributions from rookies Enes Kanter and Alec Burks
and took a 50-47 lead into halftime.

Rookie center Kanter scored a pair of putbacks, Derrick Favors scored off an
alley-oop from Earl Watson and Watson drew his second charge. Burks also hit his
first career 3-pointer with 6 1/2 minutes left in the half, and gave the Jazz a
41-37 lead after he battled to grab his own miss then scored on a driving layup.

Burks got a rousing round of applause when he entered the game for veteran
Raja Bell, who has struggled to find his shot this season. Bell entered the game
shooting just 29.4 percent (5 of 17) overall and 1 of 7 from 3-point range, and
missed his first two attempts Monday.

The Jazz were outrebounded in the first half but held a 28-16 advantage on
points in the paint, with Jefferson finding his touch. They also held an 8-0
advantage on the fast break.

The Hornets led 22-18 after the first quarter, making seven of their first
11 shots. Jason Smith made four straight jumpers off the bench as New Orleans
led by as many as seven early. He finished with a season-high 16.

Chris Kaman scored the Hornets’ first six points and 10 overall in the
second quarter.

New Orleans outscored Utah 11-4 to open the second half and regain the lead,
but Favors and Jefferson brought the Jazz back. Jefferson scored 12 points in
the first seven minutes of the third quarter, and added a block, while Favors
had a pair of rebounds and a block.

But Jack turned the momentum back toward the Hornets. He scored seven
straight points during a 9-0 Hornets run and New Orleans led 74-70 going into
the fourth quarter.

Jack had a late turnover and missed several key 3-pointers down the stretch.

NOTES: Utah outscored New Orleans 50-32 in the paint. … Howard was fined
$25,000 Monday for a flagrant foul in Saturday’s game against the Spurs in which
he hit James Anderson in the head. Head coach Tyrone Corbin was surprised at the
fine. “It’s unfortunate. I thought he made a basketball foul. I don’t think he
was going out to deliberately hurt the guy, but he made contact with his head,”
Corbin said. “They made it a point of emphasis the last couple of years.” …
Hornets leading scorer, guard Eric Gordon, missed his fourth straight game with
a bruised knee and remains listed as day to day. … New Orleans forward Trevor
Ariza exited in the fourth quarter with a strained groin. …The slow-starting
Jazz made only 3 of their first 11 shots Monday.

The New Orleans Hornets play their second game of a back-to-back on the road tonight against the Utah Jazz. The Hornets lost their second consecutive game Sunday night, 96-80 to the Sacramento Kings. Follow the game live via our Twitter feed below for updates and commentary on tonight’s game.

The New Orleans Hornets play at the Utah Jazz tonight at 8 at EnergySolutions Arena (19,911). The game will be televised on CST and broadcast on 106.1-FM.

Notable: This is the second of a back-to-back for the Hornets who played Sunday night at Sacramento . . . .Utah last played on Saturday, a 104-89 loss at San Antonio. . . . This is Utah’s second home game of the season.

Utah

Player Pos. Ht. Wt. PPG*

Gordon Hayward F 6-8 210 9.0

Paul Millsap F 6-8 253 13.3

Derrick Favors C 6-10 248 9.3

Raja Bell G 6-5 210 2.8

Devin Harris G 6-3 192 10.5

Reserves: J. Howard, F/G, 11.0, E. Kanter, C, 5.0, C. Miles, G/F, 8.5, J. Tinsley, G, 0.0, A. Jefferson, F, 14.7

Hornets

Player Pos. Ht. Wt. PPG*

Trevor Ariza F 6-8 210 9.3

Carl Landry F 6-9 248 17.0

Emeka Okafor C 6-10 255 9.0

Marco Belinelli G 6-5 195 10.3

Jarrett Jack G 6-3 197 16.5

Reserves: G. Vasquez, G, 6.7, C. Kaman, C, 8.7, A. Aminu, F, 2.0, J. Smith, F/C, 4.7.

*Statistics through Saturday’s games.

Posted: Sunday, January 01, 2012, 10:51 PM

Sacramento’s guards got into lane easily.

The New Orleans Hornets will take on the host Sacramento Kings at 8 p.m. at the Power Balance Pavilion (17,317). The game will be televised on CST and broadcast on 106.1-FM.

Notable: The Hornets won the series last season 3-1, splitting the two games at what was then known as ARCO Arena. … Sacramento has won two of the past three games against New Orleans on its home floor, but the Hornets have won eight of 10 against the Kings. … The Hornets lead the all-time series 30-28. … Tonight’s game is the first of a back-to-back, the first of the season for New Orleans. … Former Hornets and LSU guard Marcus Thornton starts for the Kings. He leads Sacramento in scoring, averaging 20.3 points. … Sacramento is in the midst of a five-games-in-six nights swing. … The Kings played the New York Knicks on Saturday night, and the Hornets are coming off a 93-78 loss at home Friday night to the Phoenix Suns.

KINGS

PLAYER POS. HT. WT. PPG

John Salmons F 6-6 207 9.0

Chuck Hayes F 6-6 250 6.0

DeMarcus Cousins C 6-11 270 14.3

Marcus Thornton G 6-4 205 20.3

Tyreke Evans G 6-6 220 14.3

Reserves: J. Fredette, G, 10.0; D. Greene, F, 1.0; T. Outlaw F, 2.7; I. Thomas, G, 3.7.

HORNETS

PLAYER POS. HT. WT. PPG

Trevor Ariza F 6-8 210 9.3

Carl Landry F 6-9 248 17.0

Emeka Okafor C 6-10 255 9.0

Marco Belinelli G 6-5 195 10.3

Jarrett Jack G 6-3 197 16.5

Reserves: E. Gordon, G, 20.0; G. Vasquez, G, 6.7; C. Kaman, C, 8.7; A. Aminu, F, 2.0; J. Smith, F/C, 4.7.