Pacers at Hornets
Paul George has seemingly emerged from a long shooting slump and the Indiana Pacers look to end a five-game road trip on a positive note when they visit the Charlotte Hornets on Monday. George shot 28.6 percent from the field and averaged 14.3 points - more than seven below his season average - in a six-game span before breaking out in Sunday's 97-96 win at Atlanta.
The four-time All-Star shot 12-for-19 en route to 34 points, his best total since Dec. 28, as the Pacers improved to 2-2 on their trip. George went 6-for-9 from behind the arc in the victory and Glenn Robinson III was 3-for-5, including the decisive make in the final second to cap a game-ending 7-0 run for Indiana. The Hornets will be playing their first home game since Feb. 13 after going 3-4 on their longest trip of the season. They enter a stretch in which they play nine of 12 at home three games behind Detroit for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East and five games behind the sixth-place Pacers.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, TNT
ABOUT THE PACERS (32-30): Indiana improved to 4-1 in games decided by three points or fewer with Sunday's win despite an uncharacteristic 12-of-21 showing from the line for the league's second-best foul-shooting unit (81.3). Point guard Jeff Teague was the outlier with five makes in as many attempts as he scored 16 points in his return to Atlanta, where he spent seven seasons. Center Myles Turner had a string of 22 straight double-digit scoring efforts snapped when he was held to a season low-tying five points in 30 minutes.
ABOUT THE HORNETS (27-35): Charlotte's 112-102 win in Denver on Saturday came in the team's first game since losing red-hot center Frank Kaminsky III to a shoulder injury two nights earlier. Forward Johnny O'Bryant III stepped up with a career-high 15 points on 7-of-9 from the field as he reportedly earned a second 10-day contract. "Johnny O'Bryant was great," coach Steve Clifford told reporters. "It's a little bit difficult because he hasn't been here very long, but he hit a big shot and we were fairly organized when he was on the floor. He gave us a big lift."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. George and Turner scored 22 points apiece in a 110-94 win over Charlotte at home in the previous meeting Dec. 12.
2. Hornets PG Kemba Walker scored 27 points in the win over Denver and is averaging 29.3 over a four-game span.
3. Charlotte ranks third behind Boston and Indiana in foul shooting (81.1 percent).