Playing on the road has gone well for the Hornets lately and they’ll look to extend their winning streak away from Charlotte to four when they face the Indiana Pacers starting tonight at 7 PM EST in Indianapolis.
After winning their previous three games (all on the road), the Hornets fell at home to the Brooklyn Nets, 115-86, last Saturday night. Charlotte struggled to generate much offense (35.2% shooting from the field) and control the boards (54-45 differential), two things it’ll need to rectify in tonight’s matchup with the Eastern Conference’s sixth-best team.
“We’ve played well on the road,” said Coach Borrego following Monday’s workout in Charlotte. “If we can rebound and run, it’s going to generate some more offense for us. We’re going to have to generate good looks. Indiana is a very good half-court defensive team and they’ve been that for a number of years. We have to get out and run and to do that, we have to get stops.”
Indiana leads the season series, 2-1, and has taken the last two meetings, the most recent coming in Charlotte on Jan. 6 by a score of 115-104. TJ Warren had a season-high 36 points (also had a 33-point showing at Spectrum Center on Nov. 5) and All-Star forward Domantas Sabonis compiled 18 points and 12 rebounds in the win. Terry Rozier (28) and Devonte’ Graham (22) each had 20-point outings for the hosts, while also dishing out six assists apiece.
The Pacers enter tonight’s game having lost seven of nine and are coming off a 46-point road loss to Toronto on Sunday evening. Sabonis is averaging 19.7 PPG on 54.3% shooting, 10.9 RPG and an impressive 5.9 APG across this stretch, while Victor Oladipo has struggled in his return from a year-long absence because of a ruptured quadriceps tendon (11.0 PPG on 34.1% shooting and 2.4 APG; appeared in seven of the nine outings with five starts).
Indiana still sits fourth in the league in turnovers (12.4) and fifth in points allowed off turnovers per game (14.7). The Hornets’ offense is at its best when in transition and the pace is moving quickly, so generating extra possessions on the defensive end will be a key factor in possibly picking up another road win at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Game Notes: Pacers G Jeremy Lamb (torn right ACL, torn lateral meniscus and lateral femoral condylar fracture) was ruled out for the season on Monday afternoon… Charlotte has dropped six of its seven regular season appearances in Indiana since the start of the 2016-17 NBA campaign.