Charlotte Hornets (14-39, 14th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Denver Nuggets (36-19, third in the Western Conference)
Denver; Thursday, 9 p.m. EST
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Nuggets -16; over/under is 228
BOTTOM LINE: Denver hosts the Charlotte Hornets after Jamal Murray scored 55 points in the Denver Nuggets' 132-121 win against the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Nuggets are 19-8 on their home court. Denver leads the Western Conference with 31.3 assists per game led by Nikola Jokic averaging 10.2.
The Hornets are 5-19 on the road. Charlotte has a 6-6 record in one-possession games.
The Nuggets make 51.0% of their shots from the field this season, which is 4.7 percentage points higher than the Hornets have allowed to their opponents (46.3%). The Nuggets average 106.1 points per game, 9.8 fewer points than the 115.9 the Nuggets allow to opponents.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jokic is averaging 29.8 points, 12.6 rebounds, 10.2 assists and 1.8 steals for the Nuggets. Murray is averaging 23.4 points and six assists over the last 10 games.
LaMelo Ball is averaging 27.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists for the Hornets. Miles Bridges is averaging 22.3 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Nuggets: 8-2, averaging 125.8 points, 45.9 rebounds, 32.4 assists, 8.1 steals and 4.8 blocks per game while shooting 53.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 115.4 points per game.
Hornets: 2-8, averaging 100.1 points, 45.2 rebounds, 23.1 assists, 6.5 steals and 3.8 blocks per game while shooting 41.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 108.3 points.
INJURIES: Nuggets: Michael Porter Jr.: day to day (hamstring), DaRon Holmes II: out for season (achilles), Vlatko Cancar: out (knee), Aaron Gordon: day to day (calf), Peyton Watson: out (knee), Jamal Murray: day to day (knee).
Hornets: Grant Williams: out for season (acl), Brandon Miller: out for season (wrist), Josh Okogie: out (hamstring), Tre Mann: out for season (back).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
