7 p.m. at Charlotte • FSN, 830-AM
Preview: The 5-4 Hornets had won three consecutive games and four of their past five until Friday's 108-101 loss at San Antonio. Before that, they had beaten Denver, Orlando, Memphis and Milwaukee — no cupcakes there — and lost to Houston. … The two teams split the season series a year ago, with the Hornets winning 115-108 at Target Center in November and the Wolves prevailing 125-120 in overtime at Charlotte in December. The Wolves trailed 104-97 with 1:26 left in that December game, but Andrew Wiggins' three-pointer with 8.9 seconds left in the fourth quarter forced overtime and the Wolves opened OT by scoring the first seven points.
Players to watch: Charlotte led the league through its first nine games in free-throw disparity. They attempted 266 compared to their opponents' 170. That's 96 more. The next-closest team was Washington, with a plus-47. C Dwight Howard led the league with 9.7 attempts a game and G Kemba Walker was sixth (7.7 FTA). The Wolves have shot more free throws than their opponent in all eight games and are sixth in the NBA in free throws attempted with 26.1 a game. The Hornets are second, with 29.6. … Hornets G Jeremy Lamb scored a career-high 27 points and had nine rebounds, six assists and two steals in Friday's loss at San Antonio. He has scored 20 or more points three times in his team's first nine games. He had that many all last season (62 games played).
Injuries: Wolves rookie C Justin Patton (July foot surgery) remains out. Hornets F Nic Batum (strained elbow) and G Julyan Stone (hamstring) are listed as out. F Michael Kidd-Gilchrist missed Friday's game because of a personal matter and is not expected to play.
