Sports / NBA Short-Handed Kings Beat Hornets Loss puts New Orleans' hopes for top seed in peril By Mitch Pritchard, Newser Staff Posted Apr 13, 2008 9:33 AM CDT Copied New Orleans Hornets forward David West, right, has the ball tapped away by Sacramento Kings' Ron Artest, left, last night. The Kings won 94-91. (AP Photo/Steve Yeater) Ron Artest returned from a thumb injury to hit four clutch 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, and the Sacramento Kings dealt a big blow to New Orleans' hopes for the top seed in the Western Conference with a 94-91 victory. The loss dropped the Hornets (55-25) into a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for the top spot in the West with only two games remaining. story continues below The Lakers control the tiebreaker with New Orleans based on a better conference record. By losing back-to-back games to the Lakers and Kings, the Hornets are also in trouble in the Southwest Division. They lead San Antonio and Houston by only a half-game, meaning they could go from fighting for home-court throughout the Western Conference playoffs to opening on the road when the postseason begins next weekend. (More NBA stories.) Report an error