It was a night of firsts Tuesday night at the Ford Center.

It was Oklahoma City's first time hosting a regular season NBA game. It was also the first game of guard Chris Paul's career.

The elusive first basket seemed like it would never come. It took nearly three minutes for the New Orleans-Oklahoma City Hornets to score their first basket.

The fans stood until the Hornets' first bucket. They were getting restless. Hornets forward P.J. Brown made a driving layup that electrified the Ford Center. The Hornets had no problems scoring after getting their initial two points.

There were doubts about the support the Hornets would receive from Oklahoma City. For the short term, all the questions were answered Tuesday night in the Hornets statement-making 93-67 victory over the Sacramento Kings.

The crowd was buzzing, pardon the pun, even before the game. The Kings should have sensed trouble after former OU legend Wayman Tisdale's rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner." It was a good night to be a fan in Oklahoma.

Hornets debut



o First basket: P.J. Brown



o First rebound: David West



o First assist: Chris Paul



o First steal: Chris Paul



o First block: Speedy Claxton

It was one standing ovation after another that culminated with a thunderous roar for rookie guard Chris Paul.

"The Oklahoma fans are truly great to us," Paul said. "We feel like we owe a lot to Oklahoma City and its fans."

For all the talk about future stars Paul and guard J.R. Smith, it was a pair of lesser heroes who led the Hornets' way.

Brown shot 75 percent from the floor on his way to a game-high 20 points and also grabbed 10 rebounds.

After a sluggish first quarter which saw both teams playing with emotion but not much execution, it was reserve point guard Speedy Claxton that had the Oklahoma City fans back on their feet.

"We wanted to give the crowd something to cheer for," Claxton said. "There's a different mindset with this team."

Claxton spurred the team to an 11-point advantage at the break, and Smith broke the game wide open with 14 points in the third quarter and a highlight-worthy dunk to give the Hornets their first 20 point lead.

"This was the biggest thing I've ever seen," Smith said. "I never went to college. If this is what the atmosphere is like, I missed out. It was unreal."

A sold-out crowd is not something the Hornets usually expect.

With a new look and a fresh start, 19,163 people all had something to cheer about Tuesday night.

"It was a fantastic atmosphere," coach Byron Scott said. "It was the first game, so we knew the fans would be into it."

Some say this is an audition for Oklahoma City to show the rest of the sports world it can support a professional team. If it is, it passed with flying colors, Scott said.

"Oklahoma City showed it's a big-time city tonight," he said. "It can definitely support a professional football or basketball team. It's showing it can hold a basketball team right now."

It took the Hornets nine games last year before they got their first victory. They didn't need a mulligan this year. They got it right the first time.

"This is a new team," Smith said. "No one is mumbling or groaning about being on this team. All the guys want to be on this team, and we believe we can win."

The Hornets' next home game will be Wednesday when the Orlando Magic come to the Ford Center.
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