Charlotte Hornets (18-51, 14th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (57-12, first in the Western Conference)
Oklahoma City; Friday, 8 p.m. EDT
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Thunder -20.5; over/under is 227
BOTTOM LINE: Oklahoma City comes into a matchup with Charlotte as winners of four straight games.
The Thunder have gone 30-5 at home. Oklahoma City is eighth in the Western Conference with 15.9 fast break points per game led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander averaging 3.8.
The Hornets are 7-26 on the road. Charlotte allows 113.5 points to opponents and has been outscored by 7.7 points per game.
The 119.8 points per game the Thunder average are 6.3 more points than the Hornets give up (113.5). The Hornets average 105.8 points per game, 1.2 fewer than the 107.0 the Thunder allow.
TOP PERFORMERS: Isaiah Hartenstein is shooting 57.8% and averaging 11.4 points for the Thunder. Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 30.1 points over the last 10 games.
Mark Williams is shooting 59.2% and averaging 15.5 points for the Hornets. LaMelo Ball is averaging 3.0 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Thunder: 9-1, averaging 124.9 points, 46.2 rebounds, 27.3 assists, 8.5 steals and 6.2 blocks per game while shooting 49.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 111.9 points per game.
Hornets: 4-6, averaging 109.8 points, 44.9 rebounds, 27.4 assists, 5.6 steals and 4.6 blocks per game while shooting 45.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 117.8 points.
INJURIES: Thunder: Jalen Williams: out (hip), Ousmane Dieng: day to day (calf), Cason Wallace: day to day (shoulder), Luguentz Dort: day to day (hip), Nikola Topic: out for season (acl), Ajay Mitchell: out (toe).
Hornets: Grant Williams: out for season (acl), Brandon Miller: out for season (wrist), Josh Okogie: out (hamstring), Marcus Garrett: day to day (back), Tidjane Salaun: day to day (ankle), Tre Mann: out for season (back).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The Associated Press
