The good: The Hornets have won three straight games at a time when they cannot afford to lose.

The bad: The two teams above us in the standings (the Clips and the Warriors) have also won three straight, and the Hornets remain 2.5 games out of the eighth and final Playoff spot.

The ugly: Chris Paul, Tyson Chandler and Desmond Mason were all forced to leave the game yesterday due to various injuries, and they could all miss tomorrow's game against the Phoenix Suns, who have been known to win a game or two.

Ah yes, the joys of being a Hornets fan. Let's jump into some news and notes from the Sonics game and try figure out which way is up…

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• Chandler had to leave the game mid-way through the first quarter after the Sonics' Chris Wilcox stepped on his bad toe. Mid-way through the second quarter, Wilcox accidentally elbowed Mason in the head and twisted his own ankle in the process. Both players were done for the night. Mase was taken to hospital for a CAT scan, so that bump was no joke.
• You have to wonder if the Sonics' sole purpose this season is to fuck with the Hornets. It was Johan Petro's donkey clog that messed up Chris Paul's ankle back in December, and Wilcox was like the grim reaper out there yesterday. I heard he petted a puppy after the game and that puppy now has cancer.
• CP played until the regulation buzzer, but that foot was killing him, so he sat out the OT. He was one assist shy of a triple double entering the fourth quarter, but couldn't get there. He finished with 11, 9 and 11.
• The game was pretty tight up until the third quarter, when the Hornets busted out to a 14-point lead. In the fourth, our guys put on a fantastic demonstration entitled How Not to Score. Devin Brown's runner with 5:30 left proved to be the Hornets last basket of regulation, as they finished the quarter with just six points, a brand spanking new franchise low. Put that in your scrapbook.
• We're now 6-0 in overtime games this season, with the six wins being a franchise record. I'm not certain, but losing three starters to injury in the same damn game may also be a franchise first.
• Bobby Jackson and Rasual Butler took over in the extra period, combining for the Hornets first 13 points. Rasual knocked down 4-of-7 triples in the game to finish with 16 points, and also came up with three blocks. Bojangles scored 18 points, and is now averaging 14.3ppg since he returned from injury.
• Also off the bench, Marc Jackson chipped in with 13 points and 12 rebounds in 39 minutes. Wow. Just wow.
• Can't forget D-West, who scored 18, grabbed 14 and dished 5. He missed another potential gamer at the end of regulation, but let's not dwell on that.
• Leading the Sonics was one Rashard Lewis, who finished with 27 points and 10 boards. He shot just 11-of-30 from the field, but it's not like Seattle had any better options offensively.
• There was a Brandon Bass sighting last night. In just his fourth on-court appearance of 2007, B-Squared grabbed two rebounds in eight minutes of burn in the second half. Hilton Armstrong and Cedric Simmons were reportedly nursing minor injuries. In a related note, Linton Johnson notched his tenth straight DNP-CD. Given all the injuries though, Byron may be forced to play him against the Suns.

There is no practice today. As mentioned, the Suns are in town tomorrow, then the Hornets will play in Minnesota on Saturday. Beyond that there's just five games left in the regular season, two of which are against those Clippers we're chasing. As for the Warriors, we just have to hope they lose.

Quite honestly, it's going to take a miracle for the Hornets to see Game 83 this season.