Charlotte @ Indiana

Current Records: Charlotte 24-23; Indiana 21-25

The Indiana Pacers and the Charlotte Hornets are even-steven against one another since February of 2016 (10-10), but not for long. Indiana will play host again and welcome the Hornets to Bankers Life Fieldhouse, where tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET Friday. Neither Indiana nor Charlotte could muster much offensive firepower in their last games, so look to the defense to decide this one.

Indiana was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Wednesday as they fell 92-87 to the Miami Heat. Center Myles Turner (15 points), small forward Doug McDermott (14 points), and shooting guard Caris LeVert (14 points) were the top scorers for Indiana. Myles Turner has also now had at least three blocks in his past six games.

Meanwhile, things couldn't have gone much worse for the Hornets as they lost 111-89 to the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday. Charlotte was in a tough position by the half, with the score already sitting at 68-48. One thing holding Charlotte back was the mediocre play of power forward P.J. Washington, who did not have his best game: he played for 26 minutes but put up just eight points on 3-for-11 shooting.

Indiana is the favorite in this one, with an expected 4-point margin of victory. Their home court has been no bettor's paradise, though, as they've failed to beat the spread in 15 of their 21 home games.

The losses put Indiana at 21-25 and Charlotte at 24-23. A pair of numbers to keep in mind before tip-off: The Pacers come into the contest boasting the fourth most steals per game in the league at 8.57. Less enviably, the Hornets have allowed their opponents an average of 8.3 steals per game, the fifth most in the league. In other words, they will need to work extra hard to take care of the ball.

The Pacers are a 4-point favorite against the Hornets, according to the latest NBA odds.

The oddsmakers were right in line with the betting community on this one, as the game opened as a 4-point spread, and stayed right there.

Over/Under: -111

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Indiana and Charlotte both have ten wins in their last 20 games.