Beal, Wizards to face Hornets in Charlotte
Washington Wizards (24-34, 11th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Charlotte Hornets (27-30, seventh in the Eastern Conference)
Charlotte; Friday, 7 p.m. Eastern
BOTTOM LINE: Charlotte will take on Washington in conference play.
The Hornets have gone 19-9 at home at the Spectrum Center. Charlotte is 17-13 in games decided by at least 10 points.
The Wizards are 6-5 against the rest of the division. Washington averages 40.9 rebounds per game and is 12-2 when out-rebounding opponents. In their last meeting on Dec. 29, the Wizards won 130-126. Trevor Ariza scored a team-high 24 points for Washington in the victory.
TOP PERFORMERS: Kemba Walker leads the Hornets with 5.6 assists and scores 24.9 points. Nicolas Batum has averaged 3.3 assists and scored 10.1 points over the last 10 games for Charlotte.
Bradley Beal has shot 47.2 percent and is averaging 25.1 points for the Wizards. Bobby Portis has scored 19 points and collected 7.2 rebounds while shooting 51.5 percent over the last 10 games for Washington.
LAST 10 GAMES: Wizards: 3-7, averaging 119.7 points, 40.1 rebounds, 31.7 assists, 7.4 steals and 4.1 blocks per game while shooting 49.6 percent from the field. Their opponents have averaged 123.4 points on 49.8 percent shooting.
Hornets: 4-6, averaging 103.5 points, 43.5 rebounds, 20.4 assists, 6.9 steals and 5.7 blocks per game while shooting 42.6 percent from the field. Their opponents have averaged 109.8 points on 48.3 percent shooting.
Hornets Injuries: Tony Parker: out (back), Bismack Biyombo: out (rest).
Wizards Injuries: Dwight Howard: out (back), John Wall: out for season (left achilles).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by HERO Sports, and data from Sportradar.