Hornets at Hawks
The Charlotte Hornets are running out of time to make a move on the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference and the schedule is not doing them any favors. The Hornets will try to make up some ground when they visit the top-seeded Atlanta Hawks on Friday.
Charlotte is just about done at three games behind eighth place in the East with four to play, and has only itself to blame with a 5-12 record over the last month. The Hornets had chances to move up in head-to-head meetings with the teams they are chasing in the last two weeks but dropped them all and are coming off a 92-74 home loss to Toronto. “We’ll have to find a way to be professional,” Charlotte coach Steve Clifford told reporters of his team’s mindset for the final four games. “I think we’ve stood for effort and purpose all season.” The Hawks are closing strong with three straight wins.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, SportSouth (Charlotte, Atlanta)
ABOUT THE HORNETS (33-45): Charlotte is slipping in part due to injuries, and Al Jefferson (knee), Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (ankle) and Cody Zeller (shoulder) are all questionable for the rest of the season. Clifford plans to give the younger players long looks over the final handful of games and played rookies P.J. Hairston and Noah Vonleh a combined 48 minutes in Wednesday’s loss to the Raptors. “Games like (Wednesday) for the rookies, for instance, those are great teaching tapes,” Clifford told reporters. “There’s a lot there that they can take with them over the summer that they can watch, and that sometimes helps even more.”
ABOUT THE HAWKS (59-19): Atlanta is gearing up for the playoffs with wins in six of its last eight games and took a break from pounding opponents with a 114-111 road win over Brooklyn on Wednesday. The Hawks had won their two previous games by a combined 59 points and are staring down the franchise’s first 60-win season. Atlanta’s big lead in the East has given the team the opportunity to rest forward Paul Millsap, who sat the last two games with a shoulder injury, while sprinkling in plenty of time off for the rest of the regulars.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Hawks G Thabo Sefolosha (broken leg) is out for the rest of the season.
2. Charlotte G Lance Stephenson (toe) sat out Wednesday and is not expected to play Friday.
3. The home team has taken each of the three meetings this season, with Atlanta earning a 105-75 win in its building on Nov. 29.