NBA: New Orleans 111, Sacramento 110

SACRAMENTO, April 1 (UPI) -- David West scored 40 points Tuesday while Rasual Butler hit a game-winning three at the buzzer, allowing New Orleans to squeak past Sacramento 111-110.

A timely screen gave Butler the look he wanted after a timeout and he nailed the winning shot from the top of the arc as time expired. Butler had 18 points in the win as New Orleans held on to the sixth playoff spot in the NBA Western Conference.

Andres Nocioni led Sacramento with 23 points and Kevin Martin added 20.

New Orleans used an 8-0 run at the start of the fourth quarter to take a 94-90 lead and then outscored Sacramento 7-1 to make it 103-95 with just over 5:30 to play.

Francisco Garcia hit a two-pointer and a trey late in the game to twice tie the score, but the Hornets came right back on both occasions to prevent the Kings from taking the lead.