OKLAHOMA CITY ? There’s a buzz in Oklahoma City. The NBA is in town.

The Hornets, forced out of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina, will face Sacramento tonight, the first of 35 regular-season games at the Ford Center.

“I think it’s going to be wild and crazy,” Hornets coach Byron Scott said Monday. “It’s going to be fun. It’s going to be a great atmosphere.”

Forward P.J. Brown, entering his 13th NBA season and his sixth with the Hornets, is the only player left from the team’s move from Charlotte to New Orleans in 2002.

“It’s going to be a new city, kind of like a grand opening,” Brown said. “There’s going to be a lot of excitement. It’s going to be a festive-type atmosphere, and the fans are going to be going wild the first night.

“I expect it to be a lot like it was back home on opening night three years ago.”

The Hornets have planned a “BuzzFest” street party with live music and the NBA’s interactive Jam Van. Artis Gilmore and Bill Walton will sign autographs, and former Oklahoma standout and NBA All-Star Wayman Tisdale will sing the national anthem.

The NBA released extra seats that it had on hold, and less than 1,000 are available in the 19,163-seat arena. Fans will be given a limited edition T-shirt available only to those in attendance, and a commemorative program will be on sale.

“I’m anxious to see what the atmosphere’s going to be like,” said point guard Chris Paul, the Hornets’ No. 1 draft pick. “It was pretty wild for the preseason games, but I’m sure they were saving some things for the opening night. I have no clue what it’s going to be like. I just can’t wait.”

New Orleans Hornets guard Chris Paul, right, drives to the basket past Maciej Lampe during practice. Paul, shown Monday in Bethany, Okla., and the Hornets have been temporarily relocated to Oklahoma City.

The Hornets, 18-64 last season, had been scheduled to start their season Wednesday night at Cleveland, but the NBA moved the team’s home opener against Sacramento up to tonight, where it joins three games featuring the league’s marquee players and teams. The Hornets’ opener won’t be televised nationally, but TNT is planning live look-ins.

In two preseason games in Oklahoma City, the Hornets averaged more than 14,750 fans and overcame 20-point first-half deficits in both games – one a win and one a four-point loss.

“We want to establish some type of a home-court advantage,” Scott said. “We’ve got a great crowd, so we’ve got to bring an energy and a physicality to the game that we haven’t been bringing, and all our guys know that right now.”

The Hornets opened last season 2-29 and were the NBA’s lowest-scoring team with only 88.4 points per game. But that hasn’t mattered to fans in Oklahoma City who have been longing for a chance to prove their city is ready for a major-league franchise.

Out at restaurants, fans recognize players, acknowledge them and say, “Welcome,” Paul said, and that went a long way.

“We’re in a new city away from home,” Paul said, “but the more people embrace us, the more we feel at home.”