WESTWEGO, La. — The New Orleans Hornets fired Byron Scott only nine games into the season yesterday and replaced him with general manager Jeff Bower, hoping the man who put the current roster together can get more out of it on the court.

"I told Jeff, 'The genie's out of the bottle,' " Hornets chief operating officer Hugh Weber said. "Nobody can say he doesn't have the right players. ... Jeff has hand-selected this team, and now he'll be held accountable for the results.

"Our expectations are high. Our sense of urgency is high. Our patience is low and we hope that translates into results quickly."

Scott, who only two seasons ago was the NBA coach of the year, was fired one day after a 124-104 loss at Phoenix dropped New Orleans to 3-6.

Bower, who will remain general manager while in his first head coaching job, immediately moved to name Tim Floyd his top assistant and said other assistants will be retained as well.

CAVALIERS

WEST INACTIVE FOR SECOND GAME IN ROW

Troubled Cleveland Cavaliers guard Delonte West was inactive for the second night in a row last night, and coach Mike Brown says his status was day-to-day.

West made the trip to Miami but sat out against the Heat last night because of an "internal matter," Brown said. That was the same reason given for West missing Wednesday's win at Orlando.

West was indicted Nov. 3 on additional weapons and traffic charges stemming from his Sept. 17 arrest for speeding on a motorcycle and carrying multiple weapons.

RAPTORS

TORONTO RELEASES VETERAN DOUBY

Toronto released four-year veteran guard Quincy Douby, who had been on the inactive list since Oct. 28 and did not appear in any regular-season games.