The Charlotte Hornets (10-29, 5-15 Away) will try to break down one of the NBA’s top shooting defenses when they are on the road to face the Milwaukee Bucks (25-13, 16-4 Home) on Friday. Charlotte was blown out by the Memphis Grizzlies 131-107 at Spectrum Center on Wednesday, their third consecutive loss.
LaMelo Ball was a top performer in defeat with 23 points and 12 assists. The Hornets are the 14th seed in the Eastern Conference.Milwaukee won a close one on Wednesday at Scotiabank Arena, beating the Toronto Raptors 104-101 in overtime.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had a triple double with 30 points, 21 rebounds, and 10 assists to lead the team. The Bucks are 1.5 games back in the Eastern Conference, currently sitting in third.It’s the last meeting of the season between the teams.
Milwaukee will be aiming for a season sweep against Charlotte after getting the win in the only previous meeting 105-96 at Spectrum Center in December 2022. Bobby Portis led the Bucks with 20 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists.
Terry Rozier had 26 points in the losing effort. The Hornets have been led this season by Kelly Oubre Jr. and Rozier, who are averaging 20.2 and 20.1 points per game, respectively. Rozier also has dished 5.3 assists per game.
Meanwhile, Mason Plumlee is grabbing 9.3 rebounds per game. Antetokounmpo (32.7 ppg) has supplied much of the Bucks’ offense. He has the third-best scoring average in the NBA. Antetokounmpo also has collected 12.1 rebounds per game, second-most in the league. Jrue Holiday has doled out 7.2 assists per game.
The Bucks rank as one of the NBA’s stingiest FG% defenses, holding the opposition to a second-lowest rate of 45.1%.The Hornets are 1-5 in six visits to Fiserv Forum.
In the last 10 games, Charlotte is 3-7 with an average margin of -7.0 (114.6-121.6). Milwaukee has split the last 10 (5-5), allowing 115.2 points per game on average while scoring only 113.3 (-1.9 margin).
HORNETS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Kelly Oubre Jr.: 7.0 | 26.5 | -19.5
Points per game:
Kelly Oubre Jr.: 6.0 | 20.2 | -14.2
Rebounds per game:
LaMelo Ball: 7.6 | 5.5 | +2.1
Nick Richards: 1.5 | 6.1 | -4.6
BUCKS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Giannis Antetokounmpo: 68.8 | 50.2 | +18.6
Jrue Holiday: 7.0 | 30.7 | -23.7
Points per game:
Giannis Antetokounmpo: 43.3 | 32.7 | +10.5
Jrue Holiday: 6.0 | 18.4 | -12.4
Rebounds per game:
Giannis Antetokounmpo: 18.3 | 12.1 | +6.2
Assists per game:
Giannis Antetokounmpo: 7.3 | 5.4 | +1.9
Jrue Holiday: 0.0 | 7.2 | -7.2
SportsTips’ NBA Pick:
Milwaukee Bucks -9.5 (-115)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
