Oklahoma City Thunder (24-5, first in the Western Conference) vs. Charlotte Hornets (7-23, 13th in the Eastern Conference)
Charlotte, North Carolina; Saturday, 6 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Oklahoma City visits the Charlotte Hornets after Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 45 points in the Thunder's 120-114 win over the Indiana Pacers.
The Hornets are 5-11 on their home court. Charlotte is the Eastern Conference leader with 13.2 offensive rebounds per game led by Moussa Diabate averaging 3.3.
The Thunder are 12-3 on the road. Oklahoma City is 21-5 when it wins the turnover battle and averages 11.0 turnovers per game.
The Hornets are shooting 42.9% from the field this season, 0.3 percentage points higher than the 42.6% the Thunder allow to opponents. The Thunder average 13.6 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.2 fewer makes per game than the Hornets give up.
TOP PERFORMERS: LaMelo Ball is shooting 42.5% and averaging 30.1 points for the Hornets.
Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 31.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, 6.1 assists and two steals for the Thunder.
LAST 10 GAMES: Hornets: 1-9, averaging 104.6 points, 45.1 rebounds, 25.5 assists, 7.7 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 43.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 114.8 points per game.
Thunder: 9-1, averaging 117.8 points, 45.9 rebounds, 25.7 assists, 11.9 steals and 5.4 blocks per game while shooting 47.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 104.1 points.
INJURIES: Hornets: Grant Williams: out for season (acl), Tre Mann: out (back).
Thunder: Chet Holmgren: out (hip), Branden Carlson: day to day (concussion protocol), Nikola Topic: out for season (acl), Alex Caruso: day to day (undisclosed).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The Associated Press
