The Charlotte Hornets and the Oklahoma City Thunder duke it out at the Paycom Center on Friday night. Here’s a Hornets vs Thunder Prediction.
Charlotte Hornets
The Charlotte Hornets have been in terrible shape as they’ve lost 12 of their last 14 games overall and they will be hoping to arrest a five-game slide after getting beaten by the Bulls in a 117-110 loss on Wednesday. Miles Bridges led the team with 30 points, 15 rebounds and five assists on 11 of 20 shooting, PJ Washington added 26 points on 10 of 17 shooting off the bench while Brandon Miller chipped in with 21 points on eight of 21 shooting. As a team, the Hornets shot 44 percent from the field and 16 of 46 from the 3-point line as they got off to a quick start to build an early 10-point lead, but they couldn’t maintain that pace and couldn’t reclaim the lead after the Bulls opened the fourth quarter on a 18-8 run. The Hornets will meet the Pacers after this one.
Charlotte Hornets Team Facts
- The Hornets have lost 17 of their last 19 road games against Northwest Division opponents that held a winning record.
- The Hornets have covered the spread in each of their last six games at Paycom Center.
- Each of the Hornets’ last five games against Western Conference opponents have gone OVER the total points line.
Oklahoma City Thunder
Meanwhile, the Oklahoma City Thunder have been in great shape as they’ve won 10 of their last 14 games overall and they will be eager to keep it going after sneaking past the Nuggets in a 105-100 win on Wednesday. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the team with 34 points, seven rebounds and five assists, Chet Holmgren added 18 points with 13 rebounds and five blocks while Aaron Wiggins chipped in with 12 points off the bench. As a team, the Thunder shot just 42 percent from the field and 11 of 26 from the 3-point line as they looked to be in trouble when they managed just 19 points in the first quarter to fall behind by 12 points, but they played excellent defense to keep the shorthanded Nuggets in check the rest of the game to escape with the narrow win. It’s hard to get too excited about this win though as the Nuggets were without Nikola Jokic and Josh Giddey had himself a quiet game of just eight points on two of 11 shooting from the field.
Oklahoma City Thunder Team Facts
- The Thunder have won each of their last 10 home games against teams that held a losing record.
- The Thunder have covered the spread in eight of their last nine home games against Eastern Conference opponents.
- Each of the Thunder’s last six games as home favorites have gone UNDER the total points line.
Hornets vs Thunder Prediction
The Hornets have been in terrible shape, they’ve won just two of their last 14 games and they couldn’t hold on against a struggling Bulls team on Wednesday. The Thunder have been one of the form teams in the league, they’re almost completely healthy and they just took down the shorthanded Nuggets in their last outing. It’s hard to imagine anything but an easy win for the Thunder here, but they almost lost against a Jokic-less Nuggets team on Wednesday, so I’ll go with the Hornets and the points here.