Hornets 100, Nuggets 90

Can you believe basketball is here? The My Opinion on Sports basketball preview begins next week, starting with the NBA and moving to college.

The New Orleans/OKC Hornets will be our new NBA team this season because they play in my backyard at the Ford Center here in Oklahoma City. Let me go on record again by saying that I do not think the Hornets will leave OKC. They have already sold over 9,000 season tickets and the city has taken a losing team and made them heroes. I think they will be here for a while.

New Orleans/OKC 100 - Denver 90

Rasual Butler scored 19 points and had eight rebounds to lead the Hornets to victory over the Denver Nuggets in the first preseason game for both teams Thursday night. Bostjan Nachbar added 16 points, 14 in the third period, and J.R. Smith had 12 for New Orleans. First-round draft choice Chris Paul had 6 points and dished 7 assists.
Carmelo Anthony led Denver with 17 points and DeMarr Johnson had 15 for the Nuggets who shot 40 percent.
The Hornets shot 63 percent.