Charlotte @ Washington preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 15, 2019 ) Charlotte 116, Washington 110

The NBA's highest-scoring team hosts one of its lowest-scoring squads when the Washington Wizards welcome the Charlotte Hornets to the nation's capital Friday night. The Wizards continued to pile up points and got just enough stops in the second half en route to a 138-132 win over San Antonio on Wednesday.

Bradley Beal poured in 33 points -- 21 in a 9-for-9 third quarter -- as Washington scored over 120 points for the fourth straight time. "A win is a win, but we still got to get better," Beal told reporters. "I won't say that we are complacent with it, but I would say we definitely made a step in the right direction in terms of having a better IQ, talking more. In terms of those, yes, but we got to run guys off the three-point line as much as possible and get that 132 down. That's way too many points." The Hornets opened their four-game road trip with a win at New York before falling by 36 points at Toronto and then dropping a 101-91 decision at Brooklyn on Wednesday. They shot a season-low 37 percent from the floor versus the Nets.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS Southeast (Charlotte), NBCS Washington

ABOUT THE HORNETS (6-9): While Washington is scoring in bunches, Charlotte is averaging just 96.7 points on the road trip and it also had a season-low in assists with 17 on Wednesday. "I think they did a good job with their switching. I think their switching really slowed us down a little bit," forward Marvin Williams told reporters. "We got a little stagnant out there. We just have to continue to move the ball and move bodies to combat some of that switching." Terry Rozier scored a team-high 18 points while Williams was held to two on 1-of-7 shooting.

ABOUT THE WIZARDS (4-8): Beal entered Thursday third in the NBA in scoring (30.3) and he's put up an average of 38.8 over his last four games. The bench provided a nice boost in Wednesday's win as five players combined for 63 points on 63.2 percent shooting, led by Davis Bertans and Ish Smith with 21 points apiece. "[I've been] going through a little slump early in the season," Smith told reporters after going 9-for-12 from the floor. "Through the 82 games, you have to keep pushing, keep pressing. Our second unit, we try to play with pace, try to get the ball from the first side to the second side and possibly the third side. Tonight, I got my number called and made some shots."

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Washington has allowed at least 60 points in the first half in 10 straight games.

2. Hornets rookie F PJ Washington has a total of 10 points in 29 minutes over his last two games due in part to foul trouble.

3. Charlotte won three of four matchups last season.

PREDICTION: Wizards 118, Hornets 109