Miami Heat (32-28, seventh in the Eastern Conference) vs. Charlotte Hornets (18-43, 14th in the Eastern Conference)
Charlotte, North Carolina; Saturday, 7 p.m. EST
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK NBA LINE: Hornets -4.5
BOTTOM LINE: Miami heads into the matchup against Charlotte after losing three straight games.
The Hornets have gone 6-8 against division opponents. Charlotte has a 12-25 record against teams above .500.
The Heat are 7-3 against Southeast Division teams. Miami is second in the Eastern Conference giving up just 108.6 points while holding opponents to 47.7% shooting.
The two teams play for the fourth time this season. The Hornets defeated the Heat 122-117 in their last matchup on Jan. 29. Terry Rozier led the Hornets with 31 points, and Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 28 points.
TOP PERFORMERS: Rozier is scoring 21.5 points per game with 4.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists for the Hornets. LaMelo Ball is averaging 20.5 points and 6.3 rebounds while shooting 41.1% over the last 10 games for Charlotte.
Butler is averaging 21.7 points, 5.9 rebounds, five assists and two steals for the Heat. Gabe Vincent is averaging 2.3 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Miami.
LAST 10 GAMES: Hornets: 3-7, averaging 114.8 points, 45.2 rebounds, 25.7 assists, 9.0 steals and 5.8 blocks per game while shooting 46.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 120.0 points per game.
Heat: 4-6, averaging 106.8 points, 41.2 rebounds, 22.5 assists, 7.8 steals and 3.5 blocks per game while shooting 44.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 111.3 points.
INJURIES: Hornets: Cody Martin: out (knee).
Heat: Kyle Lowry: out (knee), Nikola Jovic: out (back), Omer Yurtseven: out (ankle).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The Associated Press
