Hornets at Lakers
The Charlotte Hornets have won a season-best four straight games and they continue their run at a playoff spot when they visit the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday. The Hornets are one of five teams in the mix for the final three Eastern Conference playoff berths but they enter a treacherous stretch of four straight and six of their next seven on the road.
Charlotte's last three wins have come against playoff teams Boston, Toronto and San Antonio with the latest triumph being a 125-116 overtime win over the visiting Spurs on Tuesday. Star point guard Kemba Walker poured in 38 points against San Antonio and topped 30 in three of the past four games while averaging 30 points, 9.8 assists and 8.3 rebounds during the stretch. Forward LeBron James is expected back in the lineup after he sat out Wednesday's 115-100 road loss to the Utah Jazz. The setback followed Los Angeles' first back-to-back victories since mid-January and the club has lost 21 of 29 games since those consecutive triumphs.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, FS Southeast (Charlotte), Spectrum SportsNet (Los Angeles)
ABOUT THE HORNETS (35-39): Guard Dwayne Bacon produced career-best scoring outputs in back-to-back games, tallying 20 points against the Raptors on Sunday before topping that with 24 against the Spurs. "I'm seeing a ton of confidence right now, I hope he feels that from all of us as an organization, that we trust him, we believe in him," Charlotte coach James Borrego told reporters of Bacon. "This is a guy that can get to the rim. He's confident shooting the 3-ball right now. Defensively he's got his hands everywhere." Bacon's long-range shooting has been impressive during the stretch as he has made 9-of-15 from behind the arc.
ABOUT THE LAKERS (33-42): The rumor mill is heating up with speculation that third-year coach Luke Walton, who turned 39 on Thursday, will be fired after the season. The campaign has been disappointing after the signing of James, who has occasionally done things that hint he would prefer a different coach, but Walton insists that he expects to return next season. "There's different rumors and everything else," Walton told The Athletic. "Unless some kind of information comes from someone within our organization, I don't pay attention to it and I don't concern myself with the rumors."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. James had 24 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists as the Lakers pummeled the host Hornets 128-100 on Dec. 15.
2. Los Angeles C JaVale McGee had 16 points and 13 rebounds against Utah for his fourth consecutive double-double.
3. Charlotte SG Jeremy Lamb (ankle) departed Tuesday's game but hopes to return against the Lakers.