It was a bizarre night and a bizarre game, played in front of an all-time low Charlotte NBA crowd and spiced by eight technical fouls and two ejections. And well before the clock's expiration made it official, the Hornets secured a home-court victory, 114-102 over the Golden State Warriors.

With Baron Davis' 28 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists, the Hornets blew open the game in the second quarter, survived a major Warriors comeback, then cruised down the stretch.

Antawn Jamison, a Charlottean who played college basketball at North Carolina, led the Warriors with 24 points and 12 rebounds.

The Hornets had beaten Golden State 106-89 in Oakland on Dec.7. But they have been struggling at home most of the season and entered Thursday's game with a 4-8 record at the Coliseum.

They hoped to use a victory over the Warriors as a home-court springboard for a climb back to .500. They went into the game with a 13-17 record, with Thursday's matchup the first of five in a row at the Coliseum.

Golden State came in with a 12-19 record. The Warriors started their five-game trip with a loss the night before at Cleveland.

The game drew a franchise record-low paid crowd. The combination of the area snowstorm, a struggling opponent, a poor home record and competition - the telecast of the Miami-Nebraska national college football title game - apparently created the situation.

The paid attendance, which included season tickets sold but not used, was 7,770, breaking the previous all-time low of 8,727 set this season for a game against Detroit. Two unofficial media counts of people in the stands placed the turnstile at less than 1,000.

Charlotte took early control of this one despite some improbable circumstances. Starters Elden Campbell, David Wesley and Lee Nailon were each saddled with three fouls well before the end of the first half, limiting their availability. A fourth starter, P.J. Brown, went eight minutes before leaving with a sprained left ankle. He didn't return.

Davis, the lone remaining starter, directed a fast-moving, quick-strike offense to get the Hornets on top and keep them there through the half. Playing much more aggressively after several days of rest for his bruised right knee, Davis scored 12 in the opening quarter and eight in the second. Overall he hit 7-of-10 shots and 4-of-5 free throws, and also had six assists and five rebounds.

The Hornets got a huge assist from the bench as well. Robert "Tractor" Traylor hit 5-of-6 shots, scored 10 and blocked six shots in the first half. Bryce Drew hit a pair of three-pointers and added another 10. Jamaal Magloire grabbed nine rebounds and scored six, and Stacey Augmon had six points.

Charlotte led by slim margins through much of the half, then surged late, scoring the last 11 points of the second period to extend a five-point edge to 64-48 at the break. The Hornets outshot the Warriors 61.9percent to 35.2in the half.

Golden State fired back for a while in the third quarter. Getting 10 points in the period from Jason Richardson, the Warriors went on a 22-6 run and cut an 18-point deficit to two. But a late surge left the Hornets ahead 90-77 again entering the fourth.

The only remaining fireworks came with 10 minutes, 20 seconds to play when Magloire and Golden State's Marc Jackson collided under the Warriors basket and tangled, arms wrapped around each other, on the baseline. No blows were exchanged but the two were given technicals and ejected.

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Ticket Exchange
Because of the poor weather conditions, fans holding tickets to Thursday's Hornets game can exchange them at the Charlotte Coliseum box office for any remaining regular-season game, excluding the games of Feb.22 and April5. Fans who attended the game can also receive an exchange. Tickets may be exchanged for the same priced ticket or for the next available price range. Exchanges are subject to availability.