Avdija and the Trail Blazers take on Ball and the Hornets

Published Mar. 9, 2026 2:03 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Charlotte Hornets (32-33, 10th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (31-34, 10th in the Western Conference)

Portland, Oregon; Tuesday, 10 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: Deni Avdija and the Portland Trail Blazers host the Charlotte Hornets in a non-conference matchup.

The Trail Blazers are 17-15 in home games. Portland gives up 118.0 points and has been outscored by 2.7 points per game.

The Hornets have gone 18-16 away from home. Charlotte averages 115.9 points and has outscored opponents by 3.4 points per game.

The Trail Blazers are shooting 45.1% from the field this season, 1.8 percentage points lower than the 46.9% the Hornets allow to opponents. The Hornets average 115.9 points per game, 2.1 fewer than the 118.0 the Trail Blazers allow.

The two teams match up for the second time this season. The Hornets defeated the Trail Blazers 109-93 in their last meeting on Feb. 28. Brandon Miller led the Hornets with 26 points, and Jrue Holiday led the Trail Blazers with 25 points.

TOP PERFORMERS: Avdija is averaging 24.3 points, seven rebounds and 6.7 assists for the Trail Blazers. Holiday is averaging 21.2 points over the last 10 games.

LaMelo Ball is scoring 19.3 points per game with 4.8 rebounds and 7.3 assists for the Hornets. Kon Knueppel is averaging 21.0 points and 4.4 rebounds while shooting 51.4% over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Trail Blazers: 5-5, averaging 111.8 points, 45.0 rebounds, 25.1 assists, 9.0 steals and 6.9 blocks per game while shooting 45.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 116.4 points per game.

Hornets: 6-4, averaging 117.0 points, 47.2 rebounds, 27.4 assists, 8.2 steals and 4.9 blocks per game while shooting 45.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 105.4 points.

INJURIES: Trail Blazers: Shaedon Sharpe: out (calf), Damian Lillard: out for season (achilles).

Hornets: Tidjane Salaun: day to day (knee).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.