Charlotte Hornets (9-19, 12th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Cleveland Cavaliers (15-14, eighth in the Eastern Conference)
Cleveland; Monday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Cleveland comes into the matchup with Charlotte as losers of three in a row.
The Cavaliers have gone 12-11 against Eastern Conference opponents. Cleveland is ninth in the Eastern Conference with 32.2 defensive rebounds per game led by Evan Mobley averaging 6.7.
The Hornets are 8-13 in Eastern Conference play. Charlotte is 8-12 against opponents over .500.
The Cavaliers are shooting 45.7% from the field this season, 3.3 percentage points lower than the 49.0% the Hornets allow to opponents. The Hornets average 14.3 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.0 more made shot on average than the 13.3 per game the Cavaliers give up.
The teams meet for the second time this season. The Hornets won 119-111 in overtime in the last matchup on Dec. 14.
TOP PERFORMERS: Donovan Mitchell is averaging 30.7 points and 5.5 assists for the Cavaliers. Darius Garland is averaging 35 points and eight assists over the last 10 games.
Miles Bridges is scoring 21.1 points per game and averaging 6.0 rebounds for the Hornets. Kon Knueppel is averaging 4.0 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Cavaliers: 3-7, averaging 118.4 points, 47.3 rebounds, 26.6 assists, 8.6 steals and 4.1 blocks per game while shooting 45.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 121.2 points per game.
Hornets: 5-5, averaging 112.9 points, 43.0 rebounds, 26.6 assists, 8.3 steals and 5.8 blocks per game while shooting 45.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 114.1 points.
INJURIES: Cavaliers: Donovan Mitchell: day to day (illness), Sam Merrill: day to day (hand), Max Strus: out (foot), Evan Mobley: out (calf), Larry Nance Jr.: out (calf), Craig Porter Jr.: day to day (illness).
Hornets: Grant Williams: out (acl), Collin Sexton: out (quadriceps).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
