Charlotte @ Portland preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 3, 2019 ) Portland 118, Charlotte 108

The struggling Portland Trail Blazers look to begin turning their season around by ending a frustrating four-game losing streak at home Monday night when they take on the Charlotte Hornets. The Trail Blazers, who made the Western Conference finals last season, have lost eight of their last 10 games after suffering a 122-101 setback at home against NBA-best Milwaukee on Saturday.

“Trying to figure it out, trying to find a way,” Portland’s All-Star guard Damion Lillard told NBA.com of the team’s mindset. “I think dealing with injuries, not playing at the level we want to play at consistently and just trying to find a way to get it done. … We’re not coming out on the winning end like we would like to, so it’s frustrating and we’ve got to continue to battle.” Lillard and coach Terry Stotts said they liked the team’s fight against the red-hot Bucks and they will hope to carry it over against the Hornets, who have lost five in a row in the series and 11 straight at Portland. Charlotte is tied for ninth place in the Eastern Conference and 4 1/2 games out of a playoff spot after dropping its fourth straight contest Sunday, getting outscored by eight in the final quarter of a 100-92 setback at Phoenix. Former first-round pick Dwayne Bacon led the way with 24 points for the Hornets - his highest output since recording 25 in a victory over Golden State on Nov. 2.

TIME: 10 p.m. ET. TV: FS Southeast, NBCS Northwest

ABOUT THE HORNETS (15-27): Leading scorer Devonte’ Graham poured in 22 points Sunday after the 6-1 guard totaled 15 in the previous two games while forward Miles Bridges added 14 and is averaging 17.3 over his last four outings. Guard Terry Rozier’s offensive surge came to an end against Phoenix, managing five points on 1-of-10 shooting from the field - 0-for-5 from 3-point range - after scoring 27.4 per game in the first five on 2020. Forward Cody Zeller went 7-for-11 from the field to finish with 15 points - his highest output since Dec. 18 - grabbed eight rebounds and dished out five assists in the loss at Phoenix.

ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (16-24): Center Hassan Whiteside, who averages 15.8 points and a team-high 14 rebounds, missed the Milwaukee game due to illness but is probable for Monday’s contest. Lillard leads the team in scoring (26.7) along with assists (7.6) after pouring in 26 points Saturday and drained 16 shots from 3-point range in the last four contests, while backcourt mate CJ McCollum adds 21.7 points per game. Kent Bazemore scored 10 points for his first double-figure effort in 10 games Saturday and Anthony Tolliver started in place of Whiteside before grabbing a season-high 11 rebounds.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Charlotte F PJ Washington is averaging 7.3 points - almost five below his season mark - on 10-of-30 shooting in the last four games.

2. Portland G Anfernee Simons is averaging 11.8 points in his past four contests after managing five total in the first two games of 2020.

3. The Trail Blazers are last in the league in assists per game (19.5) and the Hornets (104) sit second-to-last in scoring offense.

PREDICTION: Trail Blazers 114, Hornets 102