CHARLOTTE, NC, April 5 (Ticker) -- The Charlotte Hornets are getting closer to home-court advantage, even though they still might not have it.

Jamal Mashburn scored 27 points and Elden Campbell came off the bench for 21 as the Hornets shook off a sluggish finish for a 97-91 victory over the Washington Wizards.

Charlotte (40-35) moved into sole possession of fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings, one game ahead of Milwaukee and Philadelphia. The Hornets are just one game behind fourth-place Orlando, but with their possible relocation to New Orleans pending, fan support has been lacking.

"We didn't play pretty, but we won it and that's the important thing," Charlotte coach Paul Silas said. "More important, everyone behind us lost tonight so we're only a game out of fourth. We were walking in mud."

NBA TV highlights from Wizards-Hornets: 56k | 300k P.J. in the Crunch: 56k | 300k George Lynch made both of his shots, and pulled down six rebounds. Garrett W. Ellwood NBAE/Getty Images

The game was announced as a sellout with the anticipation of North Carolina native Michael Jordan playing for Washington, but there were numerous empty seats at the Charlotte Coliseum.

The Hornets took control in the second quarter, opening a 36-23 lead on Lee Nailon's follow shot with 7:21 remaining. They closed with a 7-2 run for a 57-43 advantage at halftime.

Baron Davis nailed a jumper for an 85-70 lead with 7:43 remaining before Charlotte got sloppy near the finish. But the Wizards never seriously threatened and Tyronn Lue's 3-pointer just before the buzzer only made the score more respectable.

"Turnovers and second shots killed us in the first half," Washington coach Doug Collins said. "However, I was pleased in the fourth quarter with the way the guys played."

Richard Hamilton scored 22 points for Washington (34-42), which fell 3 1/2 games behind Indiana and Toronto for the eighth and final playoff spot.

Mashburn made 11-of-21 shots in helping Charlotte build its early advantage. Davis scored just eight points but handed out 12 assists.

Campbell came off the bench for the second straight game after missing five games due to various reasons, including the death of his father. He had a big night at the free-throw line, making 15-of-17 attempts.

"I'm feeling OK," Campbell said. "Things have been going so well, I didn't want to be a distraction. Of course, I want to be get back in there. I just have to work my way back in there."

While Campbell was on target at the free-throw line, Washington was not. The Wizards made 17-of-34 free throws as rookie Brendan Haywood was 1-of-6 and Tyrone Nesby missed all four tries.

"We missed 17 free throws," Hamilton said. "That was a big part of the game tonight. Charlotte played great, but we didn't take advantage of what was given to us."

The Hornets held a 41-39 advantage on the glass, including 13 by P.J. Brown. David Wesley was the third Hornet in double figures with 12 points.

"It seemed like such a grind-out game," Wesley said. "This game was boring, boring and a grind. We stumbled to the line, but at least we stumbled forward."

With the sizable lead, the Hornets may have turned their attention to the out-of-town scoreboard, where everything went their way. Charlotte has six of its last seven games remaining against teams that are below .500 and Orlando faces winning teams in just two of its final seven games.

Charlotte and Orlando do not meet. The Hornets have already captured the tiebreaker.

Chris Whitney and rookie Kwame Brown each netted 13 points for Washington, which again predictably struggled without Jordan. The Wizards fell to 8-21 since the All-Star break and clinched their fourth straight losing season.