The Hornets are very familiar with the Ford Center, having played

nearly all of their home games there during the 2005-06 and 2006-07

seasons while New Orleans was in the early stages of recovering from

Hurricane Katrina.

They mostly played in front of enthusiastic sellout crowds before

returning to New Orleans for last season. Now their former home will

become the site of a road trip against the Thunder, recently relocated

from Seattle.

"It'll be good," said Hornets forward David West, who was with the

team during both displaced seasons. "It was good to play there and the

guys who were with the team then enjoyed their time there. It was a

great experience. The people were really great.

"They were excited to welcome us to their city. I'm quite sure

we'll get a warm reception and we'll see some familiar faces. When

they took us in, even though it was only temporary, they made us feel

at home."

The Hornets are 5-5 after a 105-96 loss at home to the Kings on

Wednesday night.

KINGS 105, HORNETS 96: John Salmons scored a game-high 29 points

to lead five Kings in double-figures as Sacramento ended a three-game

losing streak Wednesday night in the New Orleans Arena. Rookie Donte

Greene scored 15 points -- two more than he had coming into the game.

Brad Miller and Beno Udrih scored 14 each, and rookie Jason Thompson

had 10.

The Hornets, who had been struggling offensively, seemed to be

back on track as they took a 54-51 halftime lead, but they fell short

on both ends while being outscored, 54-42, in the second half. They

followed a 59 percent shooting performance in the first half with a 44

percent shooting performance in the second half, during which they

committed nine turnovers, leading to 14 points.