CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Charlotte Hornets are entering a favorable stretch in the schedule, and they want to take full advantage.

The Hornets routed the Phoenix Suns 126-92 on Tuesday night as they started a stretch of eight home games in their next nine, and 10 of their next 12.

Coach Steve Clifford said it was essential that his team understands the importance of the stretch, as they battle for seeding in the Eastern Conference playoff race. The Hornets are currently sixth in the Eastern Conference standings, but four teams are essentially tied in the battle for the sixth, seventh and eighth playoff spots.

"We've done a good job on the road the last month, so we've given ourselves a chance here," Clifford said. "This is a big stretch for us. When you have nine of the next 10 at home, you have to take advantage of that. The good thing is, we're playing well. We're very focused. You could tell this morning at shoot-around we were very locked in, and a lot of talk about being ready. I thought we played with good purpose."

The Hornets (31-28) have now won seven of their last nine, thanks in part to a recent 4-2 road trip. After a game at Philadelphia on Wednesday, they'll return home for a seven-game home stand.

"We know how important these games are," guard Kemba Walker said. "We've been on the road so long, now we want to take care of business at home. We've improved a lot on the road and we've played well at home all season, so now we just want to keep playing well."

Walker led the rout with 26 points, nine assists and six rebounds in just three quarters of action. He was coming off a 3-for-15 shooting performance in an 87-76 loss at Atlanta on Sunday, but he erupted for 14 first-quarter points Tuesday night as the Hornets raced to a 21-6 lead quickly. He finished 9-of-16 from the field with three 3-pointers.

The Hornets then went on to lead by as many as 27 in the first half and pushed the lead all the way to 43 in the second half. They led 68-42 at halftime, and 98-61 after three quarters.

"We just wanted to go out and show we were the better team early," Walker said. "We know how they can get going. They're a pretty good team, so we just wanted to execute our game plan on the defensive end and get out in transition."

The Hornets also got 19 points off the bench from center Al Jefferson, and 15 points apiece from guards Nicolas Batum and Jeremy Lamb.

The Suns (15-45) suffered their 16th straight road loss. They have now lost 14 of their last 15, and are 3-29 since Dec. 20.

Interim coach Earl Watson blamed turnovers for the Suns' early struggles, as the Hornets raced to a 21-6 lead in the first seven minutes.

"Early turnovers are critical," Watson said. "Turnovers have been our Achilles heel all year. We understand that. Once we realize that, especially on the road, that we have to keep it more simple, make the correct pass, stay within what we do, over-execute every play, over-exhaust every play into the post -- when we do that, we'll have better results."

Center Alex Len led the Suns with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Forward Mirza Teletovic scored 17, guard Devin Booker scored 13, guard John Jenkins scored 11, and guard Archie Goodwin scored 10.

"I think they were more ready to play than we were on the effort side," Suns guard Ronnie Price said. "We just didn't play team defense tonight, and that was the biggest thing. They had so many easy layups, easy buckets at the rim. When you give up that many points in the paint, guards getting to the rim, it's tough to win games like that."

NOTES: The Suns beat the Hornets 111-102 in Phoenix on Jan. 6 and had beaten the Hornets seven times in the previous eight games. ... The Suns were opening a four-game Southern swing. They snapped a 13-game losing streak by beating Memphis 111-106 at home on Saturday. ... The Suns' win over Memphis gave interim coach Earl Watson his first NBA win. Watson took over on Feb. 1 after Jeff Hornacek was fired. ... The Suns' 16-game road losing streak is the second longest in franchise history. The 1973-74 team lost 18 straight road games. ... G Courtney Lee made his Hornets home debut Tuesday night after being acquired from Memphis on Feb. 16. He scored eight points in 23 minutes. ... The Hornets were without C Spencer Hawes (lower back) for the sixth straight game. ... The Hornets signed G Jorge Gutierrez to a second 10-day contract on Tuesday. He scored five points in mop-up duty. ... The Hornets are 11-2 at home when C Al Jefferson plays. The Hornets are now 20-9 at home, which is more home wins than they had all of last season. ... The Hornets will play at Philadelphia on Wednesday. ... The Suns will play at Miami on Thursday.