Charlotte faces Miami, looks for 5th straight home win

Miami Heat (22-23, seventh in the Eastern Conference) vs. Charlotte Hornets (22-21, fourth in the Eastern Conference)

Charlotte; Friday, 8 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: Charlotte will try to keep its four-game home win streak intact when the Hornets play Miami.

The Hornets are 11-9 in conference matchups. Charlotte ranks eighth in the Eastern Conference in rebounding averaging 43.9 rebounds. Cody Zeller leads the Hornets with 7.1 boards.

The Heat are 5-4 against the rest of the division. Miami averages 42.9 rebounds per game and is 13-5 when outrebounding opponents.

The teams square off for the second time this season. The Hornets won the last meeting 129-121 on Feb. 1. Malik Monk scored 36 points to help lead Charlotte to the win.

TOP PERFORMERS: Terry Rozier leads the Hornets with 3.3 made 3-pointers, and is averaging 20.3 points while shooting 42% from beyond the arc. Gordon Hayward is averaging 14 points and 5.8 rebounds while shooting 41.5% over the last 10 games for Charlotte.

Bam Adebayo is second on the Heat averaging 19.4 points while adding 9.5 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game. Tyler Herro is averaging 13.3 points and 4.2 rebounds while shooting 32.1% over the last 10 games for Miami.

LAST 10 GAMES: Hornets: 6-4, averaging 111.6 points, 43.9 rebounds, 27.4 assists, 8.4 steals and 4.7 blocks per game while shooting 46.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 111.1 points on 47.6% shooting.

Heat: 5-5, averaging 105.3 points, 44.4 rebounds, 26.1 assists, 7.8 steals and 4.8 blocks per game while shooting 45.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 105.1 points on 43.6% shooting.

INJURIES: Hornets: LaMelo Ball: out (wrist).

Heat: KZ Okpala: out (health protocols), Victor Oladipo: day to day (personal), Jimmy Butler: out (illness), Udonis Haslem: out (health and safety protocols), Goran Dragic: out (back).

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by