Hornets at Hawks
The Charlotte Hornets will attempt to salvage the finale of a dismal five-game road trip when they visit the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday. Four straight losses to begin the trip - all to Eastern Conference foes - have altered the course for a Hornets team that opened 6-1 and was still five games over .500 to start the voyage.
In Friday's 96-88 loss at Boston, Charlotte produced just 38 points after the break as it was unable to hang down the stretch without leading scorer Kemba Walker, who was out for personal reasons. Walker is expected to return to face the Hawks, who recently had a seven-game skid of their own but have rebounded to win three of the last four, including an impressive 125-121 triumph at Toronto on Friday. Dwight Howard had a vintage performance with 27 points and 15 rebounds as Atlanta continued an offensive run that has seen the squad average 115.5 points over the course of the 3-1 surge. The Hawks have lost four of their last five at home.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FSN Southeast (Charlotte, Atlanta)
ABOUT THE HORNETS (14-13): Unsurprisingly, Walker's first missed game coincided with Charlotte's second-lowest scoring output of the season and its lowest in a losing effort. Nicolas Batum did his best to fill the void with 22 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals but he was 6-of-19 from the floor and the Hornets shot a season-low 32.7 percent. Reserve forward Frank Kaminsky remained in a funk with a 3-for-10 showing and he is 12-for-54 over a six-game span.
ABOUT THE HAWKS (13-13): Point guard Dennis Schroder continues to elevate his game and he had 24 points while shooting 8-for-12 in the win over the Raptors. The fourth-year pro is averaging 21.9 points in his last nine games and has made at least half of his 3-point tries in each of the last five. Schroder is shooting 48.8 percent from the floor and 49 percent from beyond the arc in Atlanta's 13 wins, compared to 42.6 and 26 percent in its 13 losses.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Hawks SG Kyle Korver is 10-for-15 from 3-point range over the last two games while going 0-for-1 inside the arc.
2. Hornets C Cody Zeller had two points and 10 rebounds against Boston after finishing his previous game with 18 points and two boards.
3. Batum had 24 points and 10 rebounds to help the Hornets defeat the Hawks 100-96 at home Nov. 18.