Charlotte faces Portland, looks to end home skid

Tue, Apr 2, 2024
NBA News (AP)

Portland Trail Blazers (19-56, 14th in the Western Conference) vs. Charlotte Hornets (18-57, 13th in the Eastern Conference)

Charlotte, North Carolina; Wednesday, 7 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: Charlotte hosts Portland looking to stop its three-game home skid.

The Hornets have gone 10-27 in home games. Charlotte averages 12.9 turnovers per game and is 8-27 when it turns the ball over less than its opponents.

The Trail Blazers have gone 8-29 away from home. Portland is 4-6 in games decided by 3 points or fewer.

The Hornets average 106.3 points per game, 9.7 fewer points than the 116.0 the Trail Blazers allow. The Trail Blazers' 44.3% shooting percentage from the field this season is 5.2 percentage points lower than the Hornets have given up to their opponents (49.5%).

The teams square off for the second time this season. The Hornets won the last matchup 93-80 on Feb. 26, with Nick Richards scoring 21 points in the win.

TOP PERFORMERS: Richards is scoring 9.8 points per game and averaging 8.3 rebounds for the Hornets. Miles Bridges is averaging 21.2 points and 7.2 rebounds over the last 10 games.

Jerami Grant is averaging 21 points for the Trail Blazers. Dalano Banton is averaging 19.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.5 steals over the past 10 games.

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LAST 10 GAMES: Hornets: 2-8, averaging 101.6 points, 37.5 rebounds, 24.6 assists, 6.3 steals and 3.1 blocks per game while shooting 46.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 114.7 points per game.

Trail Blazers: 0-10, averaging 102.1 points, 41.2 rebounds, 23.7 assists, 7.1 steals and 4.0 blocks per game while shooting 45.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 117.2 points.

INJURIES: Hornets: LaMelo Ball: out for season (ankle), Nick Richards: day to day (foot), Seth Curry: out (ankle), Mark Williams: out (back), Cody Martin: out (ankle).

Trail Blazers: Anfernee Simons: day to day (knee), Matisse Thybulle: day to day (ankle), Justin Minaya: day to day (back), Malcolm Brogdon: out (elbow), Jerami Grant: day to day (hamstring), Toumani Camara: out for season (rib), Shaedon Sharpe: day to day (abdomen), Robert Williams III: out for season (knee).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.