Houston Rockets (33-20, fourth in the Western Conference) vs. Charlotte Hornets (26-29, ninth in the Eastern Conference)
Charlotte, North Carolina; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Rockets -2.5; over/under is 216.5
BOTTOM LINE: Houston hits the road against Charlotte looking to extend its four-game road winning streak.
The Hornets have gone 12-14 in home games. Charlotte averages 15.0 turnovers per game and is 6-8 when it wins the turnover battle.
The Rockets are 15-13 in road games. Houston averages 14.3 turnovers per game and is 13-5 when committing fewer turnovers than opponents.
The Hornets average 15.4 made 3-pointers per game this season, 3.1 more made shots on average than the 12.3 per game the Rockets give up. The Rockets are shooting 47.1% from the field, 0.1% lower than the 47.2% the Hornets’ opponents have shot this season.
The teams play for the second time this season. The Hornets won the last meeting 109-99 on Feb. 6. Kon Knueppel scored 24 points to help lead the Hornets to the victory.
TOP PERFORMERS: Knueppel is averaging 18.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists for the Hornets. Brandon Miller is averaging 22.4 points over the last 10 games.
Alperen Sengun is scoring 20.7 points per game and averaging 9.4 rebounds for the Rockets. Jabari Smith Jr. is averaging 2.3 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Hornets: 9-1, averaging 114.6 points, 48.1 rebounds, 25.8 assists, 6.6 steals and 4.2 blocks per game while shooting 45.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 106.2 points per game.
Rockets: 6-4, averaging 104.8 points, 47.9 rebounds, 23.8 assists, 9.5 steals and 6.6 blocks per game while shooting 43.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 104.6 points.
INJURIES: Hornets: Coby White: out (calf), Liam McNeeley: day to day (ankle).
Rockets: Fred VanVleet: out for season (acl), Dorian Finney-Smith: day to day (rest), Steven Adams: out for season (ankle).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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