The New Orleans Hornets finally got to the .500 mark, and that is due to the usual suspects – Chris Paul and David West. Paul, while being his normal self has been getting ample assistance from West, who has picked up his game since December. Wednesday would find Paul and the Hornets visiting the Ford Center to take on the much-improved Oklahoma City Thunder.

For those who have followed the Hornets’ recent history, they played a season in Oklahoma City at the Ford Center before returning to New Orleans. So in a sense, this was sort of a homecoming. The Hornets shot like they never left the OKC, shooting nearly 50 percent (49.3%) while trumping the Thunder in nearly every meaningful category. The end result of all of this is New Orleans escaping with a rare road win, a 97-92 decision over Oklahoma City.

The first quarter was tightly played although the Hornets held a seven-point edge, courtesy of an Emeka Okafor basket with 5:37 left in the opening period; a pair of free throws by Kevin Durant would allow the Thunder to tie things up at 23 entering the second quarter. James Posey’s three-pointer allowed the Hornets to take a six-point lead at 31-25;  a pair of Durant free throws gave Oklahoma City a brief 44-43 lead before Devin Brown hit a jumper at the horn, giving New Orleans a 48-46 lead going into halftime.

Three lead changes took place in the third quarter before Peja Stojakovic’s 3 put the Hornets up 56-51; two ties later, Brown would hit a trey which gave the Hornets a 65-60 edge with 5:54 remaining in the period. With 1:47 left, Serge Ibaka’s dunk tied up the game at 77-all before Paul converted two free throws, putting  New Orleans to within two going into the final 12 minutes. Paul served as a facilitator for much of the night but maneuvered into the lane and rolled in a layup with 11.1 seconds left to put New Orleans up 95-92. Russell Westbrook missed an off-balance 3-pointer that would’ve tied it in the closing seconds, and Posey then hit two free throws to provide the final margin.

West led a balanced Hornets attack with 19 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal and 2 blocks while Emeka Okafor added 15 with 8 rebounds and 3 blocks; Paul chipped in 14 with 4 rebounds, 13 assists and 3 steals.

The Thunder were led by Durant with 27 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal while Jeff Green scored 20 with 5 rebounds; Nenad Krstic and Westbrook added 11 apiece – with Krstic grabbing 6 rebounds and dishing out an assist while Westbrook grabbed 4 boards, dished out 9 assists along with 3 steals.

New Orleans (17-16) plays again on Friday when they host the New Jersey Nets while Oklahoma City (19-16) continues their homestand, hosting the Indiana Pacers Saturday night.