Charlotte Hornets vs Denver Nuggets Prediction, 1/18/2026 Preview and Pick

Game: Charlotte Hornets vs Denver Nuggets

Date: Sunday, January 18, 2026

Location: Ball Arena in Denver, CO

TV: Altitude

Ball Arena is where the Denver Nuggets (28-13) will attempt to beat the Charlotte Hornets (15-26) on Sunday.

The Hornets faced off with the Lakers and earned the victory with a final of 135-117 in their last contest. Charlotte wrapped up the contest having earned a 54.3% field goal percentage (50 out of 92) and made 20 of 43 shots from beyond the perimeter. When they shot from the free throw line, the Hornets buried 15 of 16 tries for a rate of 93.8%. In regard to hauling in rebounds, they collected 50 with 14 of them being of the offensive variety. They also dished out 34 dimes for the game as well as forcing the other team into 9 turnovers and having 3 steals. When it comes to defending, Charlotte allowed the other team to shoot 46.2% from the field on 43 out of 93 shooting. Los Angeles dished out 18 dimes and had 8 steals for the contest. Additionally, Los Angeles snagged 35 rebounds (12 offensive, 23 defensive) and added 5 blocks. Los Angeles ended up shooting 73.9% from the charity stripe by knocking down 17 of 23 tries. They made 14 of 38 shots from distance. When discussing fouls, the Hornets ended up with 21 and the Lakers totaled 17 fouls.

LaMelo Ball is one player who came through in the matchup. Ball finished 50.0% from the field and also earned 11 dimes. He played for 29 minutes and also collected 6 rebounds. He ended up finishing with 30 points on 10 of 20 shooting.

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Charlotte heads into this contest with a win-loss mark of 15-26 for the year. They lose possession via turnover 15.5 times per game and as a unit are committing 19.3 fouls per contest. As a unit, Charlotte is pulling down 45.4 boards per game and has 1,091 dimes for the season, which ranks 12th in the NBA in terms of passing the rock. The Hornets are hitting 37.3% on shots beyond the perimeter (630 of 1,690) and 81.3% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 116.6 points per game (15th in basketball) on 46.1% from the field.

When they are on the defensive end, the Hornets are forcing their opponents into 12.6 turnovers per contest and they draw 20.9 fouls. They currently rank 26th in basketball in allowing assists with 1,134 relinquished for the season. The Hornets defense is giving up a FG percentage of 48.0% (1,774 of 3,694) and they concede 40.0 rebounds per game as a unit. They surrender 37.5% from 3-point land and they rank 17th in basketball in points per game allowed (116.7).

In their last game, the Nuggets walked away with a victory by a final of 118-109 when they faced the Mavericks. The Nuggets were able to pull down 32 defensive boards and 7 offensive boards for a total of 39 for the contest. They turned it over 9 times, while getting 4 steals for the game. The Mavericks earned 20 fouls in this contest which got the Nuggets to the free throw line for a total of 22 attempts. They were able to make 18 of the free throws for a rate of 81.8%. When it comes to shots from beyond the perimeter, Denver converted 16 out of their 38 attempts (42.1%). When the game finished, the Nuggets finished 42 out of 85 from the field which had them at 49.4%. The Nuggets allowed the Mavericks to knock down 41 of 93 attempts from the field which had them shooting 44.1% in the game. They finished 14.7% from beyond the perimeter by going 5 of 34 and finished the contest at 22 out of 33 at the charity stripe (66.7%). Concerning rebounds, Denver allowed Dallas to snag 47 overall (13 on the offensive glass).

Jamal Murray was important for the Nuggets for this contest. He made 13 out of 24 for this contest for a field goal percentage of 54.2%, and accounted for 2 rebounds. Murray racked up 33 points in his 38 mins of playing time and had 5 dimes for this game.

Denver has a record of 28-13 so far this year. The Nuggets are committing 19.1 personal fouls every game and they connect on 81.7% from the charity stripe. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 28.4 times per contest (8th in the NBA) and they are turning it over 13.0 times per game. Denver has scored 5,026 points on the season (122.6 per game) and they collect 42.9 boards per contest. As an offensive unit, the Nuggets are shooting 50.2% from the floor, which ranks 1st in the league.

The Nuggets on the defensive end are ranked 20th in the NBA in points given up per game with 117.2. They have forced 12.2 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 47.1% from the floor (17th in the league). The Denver defense concedes 35.2% on 3-point shots (544 of 1,545) and opponents are knocking down 77.7% of their free throw shots. They concede 27.2 assists and 42.6 total rebounds per game, which is 19th and 8th in basketball.

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take Denver and under the total points

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