Phoenix @ Charlotte preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 4, 2018 ) Charlotte 115, Phoenix 110

Any hope the Charlotte Hornets had of making a run at a playoff spot is fading during a five-game slide that included four losses to teams ahead of them in the East. The Hornets will try to end the losing streak when they host the lowly Phoenix Suns on Saturday.

Charlotte fell to the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors during the current slide, but the crushing losses were the last two, losing to the Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets at home by a total of 28 points. "I don't think our effort was there," Hornets All-Star guard Kemba Walker told reporters after Thursday's 125-111 loss to the Nets. "They brought it to us and we didn't respond defensively. It just wasn't there tonight." Charlotte allowed at least 125 points in three of the last five games but is going up against a Suns squad that dropped four straight and 14 of its last 15. Phoenix became the first team to be officially eliminated from playoff competition on Thursday while suffering a 115-87 setback at the Oklahoma City Thunder.

TV: 5 p.m. ET, FS Arizona (Phoenix), FS Southeast (Charlotte)

ABOUT THE SUNS (19-48): The bright spot for Phoenix continues to be shooting guard Devin Booker, who scored 30 points in Thursday's setback and is trying to find silver linings during the losing. "I mean, I like my life a lot," Booker told reporters. "I'm able to wake up and play the game of my dreams. Obviously being a competitor, I want to win ... but at the end of the day, we get a chance to play a sport we love." Booker was one of two players to reach double figures on Thursday (Tyson Chandler, 10) and is averaging 31.4 points in eight games since the All-Star break.

ABOUT THE HORNETS (28-38): Charlotte entered play on Friday 6 1/2 games behind the eighth-place Milwaukee Bucks in the East and is searching for answers. "It's been difficult. It hasn't ever been this way here," power forward Marvin Williams told the Charlotte Observer. "I remember, even going back to my first year here (the 33-48 season in 2014-15), we weren't very good, but we still competed, we still defended. We weren't the most talented, but we played hard. We didn't just play for ourselves, we played for each other and for coach. Right now, we're just not giving the effort we need to give." The Hornets allowed the 76ers to shoot 57.5 percent from the field on Tuesday and let the Nets go off at 51.1 percent on Thursday.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Hornets PG Michael Carter-Williams is scheduled to undergo season-ending shoulder surgery.

2. Suns SG Josh Jackson (knee) and SF TJ Warren (back) are both questionable for Saturday.

3. Charlotte earned a 115-110 win at Phoenix on Feb. 4.

PREDICTION: Hornets 123, Suns 117