The NBA schedule-makers have helped ensure that the Hornets' standing in the Southwest Division won't be determined until the very end.
The Hornets (48-30 after a 105-100 loss at home to the Suns on Wednesday) know that the last-place Grizzlies cannot catch them in the division. Everything else is still in play. New Orleans is in third place, one game ahead of the Mavericks and two games behind the Rockets and the Spurs with four games remaining.
The Hornets play at Dallas on Friday, then finish a home-and-home set with the Mavericks on Sunday. They close the regular season with games at the Rockets on Tuesday and the Spurs on April 15.
"It's a great thing because it gets you in a playoff mode," guard Rasual Butler said. "Everybody is going to play hard and try to send a message to one another. It can only prepare you for the playoffs."
The Hornets don't have the luxury of resting any key players because they still have some climbing to do if they're going to get home-court advantage in the first round.
"If we win some more games, there's no telling what seed we might wind up with," coach Byron Scott said. "We don't have any more pressure as far as being in or out (of the playoffs). We just want to win three or four more games and see where that puts us."
SUNS 105, HORNETS 100: The Hornets went cold in the middle two quarters and couldn't catch up as the Suns prevailed Wednesday night in the New Orleans Arena.
The Hornets outscored the Suns, 32-26, in the first quarter and 35-30 in the fourth quarter. But in between they were outscored, 49-33, making just 13 of 43 shots (30 percent).
"We were ahead early and making shots and getting out and running," Hornets point guard Chris Paul said. "But in the third quarter it got away from us."
