Wellington, Feb 9 NZPA - New Zealand's Sean Marks was a matchwinner and scored a National Basketball Association career-high 18 points for his New Orleans Hornets today.

Marks, whose contributions for the Hornets have increased in recent weeks, played 24 minutes in the 101-97 defeat of the Minnesota Timberwolves, much to the pleasure of the home crowd and his coach.

He shot six from eight attempts from the field and six from nine free throws while pulling down five rebounds and producing several spectacular blocks.

His 18 points, which eclipses two previous 16-point hauls, made Marks the second-highest contributor for New Orleans behind guard Rasual Butler's 23.

Marks rammed home a two-handed dunk off a loose ball with just seven seconds remaining to give his side a decisive 97-96 lead after they had trailed for much of the night.

"I wish I could tell you that was the play, but it was just the case of luck of the bounce," Marks told reporters.

"It bounced up right to me. I guess I was just in the right place. I was feeling a little bit bad after missing that free throw. I was just happy when the game was over and we had won."

An Associated Press report today noted that the first time Marks played any extended minutes at the New Orleans Arena this season, he was booed off the court.

This time the 33-year-old was the toast of 16,046 fans in one of his best moments of a nine-year NBA career.

Coach Byron Scott, the former Los Angeles Laker star, was full of praise.

"I thought he was fantastic tonight and hopefully this gives him more confidence the rest of the season," Scott said.

The Hornets, still playing without injured All-Star point guard Paul Grant, improved their record to 30 wins and 18 losses, ranking them fourth in the Western Conference.

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