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The Charlotte Hornets have seen their past two games postponed due to the tragic Los Angeles wildfires to shorten a five-game road trip into a three-contest excursion.

The Hornets will make their return to the court on Sunday night when they visit the Phoenix Suns, who happen to be their most recent opponent.

Charlotte’s games against the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday and Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday were postponed and will be made up later this season.

After the first postponement, Hornets forward Miles Bridges made it clear that not getting to play a game is nothing compared to people losing their homes and all their belongings.

“It’s more than basketball,” Bridges told The Charlotte Observer. “People are losing their lives, losing their homes. This is just a game of basketball, so just praying for those families in need and hoping that the situation gets better for them.”

The Hornets practiced at UCLA during their Southern California stay. Now coach Charles Lee is hoping the momentum they had by beating the visiting Suns 115-104 last Tuesday will continue.

Charlotte had lost 18 of 19 games before outclassing Phoenix.

“I do think we are starting to gain some momentum with having some guys back healthy,” Lee said. “And the more reps we have playing together and drilling together is going to help us in the long run, especially coming off that Phoenix Suns game. I want us to continue to build off that.”

LaMelo Ball stood out with 32 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and four steals against Phoenix. Bridges chipped in with 21 points and seven boards.

The victory snapped a streak of seven straight Charlotte losses against the Suns.

Phoenix received 39 points from Devin Booker and 26 from Kevin Durant in the recent loss to the Hornets. But the rest of the roster combined for only 39 points.

Booker (34) and Durant (25) were again the big guns when the Suns notched a 114-106 home victory over the Utah Jazz on Saturday.

But three other players scored in double digits this time — Grayson Allen (14) and Bradley Beal (12) off the bench and new starter Ryan Dunn (10).

Booker (6 of 12) and Allen (4 of 10) combined for 10 of Phoenix’s 13 treys against the Jazz.

“I still push for more 3s and I think just the overall tempo of the game, just playing faster,” Booker said of creating more opportunities. “Obviously, that starts with getting a stop and securing the ball but I feel like we’re at our best when we get a rebound and we kick it ahead. And that’s how you find individual coverages. You don’t let the defense set up and guard us.”

Booker’s strong effort from deep came one game after he missed all eight long-range attempts during Thursday’s 123-115 home victory over the Atlanta Hawks.

Durant has scored 20 or more points in 14 consecutive appearances, a streak that includes outings of 43, 37 and 35 points. He also has made at least 60 percent of his shots in three of the past five games.

Beal was recently switched to a bench role but is still receiving 30-plus minutes. He has two 25-point scoring efforts since the change.

Big man Jusuf Nurkic also was recently demoted and hasn’t played at all in the past two games. The Suns are reportedly shopping Nurkic.

–Field Level Media