Cleveland Cavaliers vs Charlotte Hornets Prediction, 2/20/2026 Preview and Pick

Game: Cleveland Cavaliers vs Charlotte Hornets

Date: Friday, February 20, 2026

Location: Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC

TV: FanDuel Sports Network

Spectrum Center is the location where the Charlotte Hornets (26-29) will compete against the Cleveland Cavaliers (34-21) on Friday.

The Cavaliers faced the Wizards and walked away with a win by a score of 138-113 in their last game. In the matter of fouls, the Cavaliers left the arena with 15 and the Wizards finished the game with 21 fouls. They also converted 14 out of their 46 tries from downtown. Washington ended up shooting 83.3% when shooting free throws by making 15 of their 18 attempts. On top of that, Washington snagged 40 rebounds (19 offensive, 21 defensive) and got 8 blocks. Washington doled out 26 assists and had 13 steals for this contest. Concerning defending, Cleveland allowed the other team to shoot 40.4% from the field on 42 of 104 shooting. They also recorded 30 assists in this matchup in addition to creating 15 turnovers and getting 9 steals. With regard to pulling down rebounds, they earned 51 with 16 of them being on the offensive end. At the charity stripe, the Cavaliers made 32 of 37 attempts for a percentage of 86.5%. Cleveland ended the contest having earned a 54.2% FG percentage (45 of 83) and knocked down 16 of their 38 three-point shots.

Sam Merrill is a player who played a role for the game. Merrill finished 91.7% from the field and also totaled 1 assist. He was on the court for 25 mins and totaled 5 boards. He had 32 points on 11 out of 12 shooting.

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Cleveland will enter this contest with a record of 34-21 for the year. They turn it over 14.5 times per game and as a team are committing 20.0 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Cleveland is grabbing 44.6 boards per game and has earned 1,574 dimes for the year, which ranks 7th in the league in terms of passing. The Cavaliers are connecting on 35.8% on 3-pointers (809 of 2,258) and 78.4% from the free throw line. They are averaging 120.0 pts per game (2nd in basketball) while connecting on 47.6% from the field.

Defensively, the Cavaliers are forcing their opponents into 15.9 turnovers every game and they draw 20.2 personal fouls. They are surrendering 37.2% on shots from beyond the arc and they are 17th in basketball in PPG allowed (115.9). The Cavaliers defensively are allowing a FG percentage of 46.3% (2,283 of 4,930) and they surrender 44.0 rebounds per game as a group. They rank 17th in basketball in giving up assists to their opponents with 1,470 surrendered for the season.

For their last game, the Hornets walked away with a victory by a final of 110-107 against the Hawks. With respect to rebounding, Charlotte allowed Atlanta to grab 41 in total (8 on the offensive glass). They shot 27.8% from distance by going 10 out of 36 and ended up shooting 23 of 30 at the free throw line (76.7%). The Hornets permitted the Hawks to knock down 37 of their 84 tries from the field which had them shooting 44.0% for this contest. At the conclusion of this game, the Hornets ended up going 33 for 88 from the floor which gave them a rate of 37.5%. In regard to three-point attempts, Charlotte converted 19 of 51 tries (37.3%). They were able to make 25 of them for a percentage of 86.2%. The Hawks had 21 personal fouls for this contest which took the Hornets to the charity stripe for 29 attempts. They turned the ball over 16 times, while recording 10 steals for the matchup. The Hornets were able to pull down 35 defensive rebounds and 15 offensive boards totaling 50 in this contest.

Brandon Miller pitched in for the Hornets for the contest. Miller totaled 31 points in his 36 minutes on the court and added 2 assists in this matchup. He converted 10 of 26 in this matchup for a field goal rate of 38.5%, and totaled 9 rebounds.

Charlotte has a mark of 26-29 on the campaign. On the offensive side of the ball, the Hornets are hitting on 46.0% from the field, which has them ranked 25th in basketball. Charlotte has scored 6,363 points so far this year (115.7 per game) and they collect 46.0 rebounds per game. They are getting an assist 26.4 times per game (15th in the league) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 15.9 times per game. The Hornets commit 19.1 personal fouls every game and they shoot 82.1% from the free throw line.

The Hornets are ranked 11th in the league in PPG surrendered with 113.8. They are forcing their opponents into 12.5 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 47.2% from the field (19th in the league). The Charlotte defense concedes 36.5% on 3-point attempts (716 of 1,964) and opponents are connecting on 80.1% of their free throw shots. They have allowed 27.1 dimes and 39.5 rebounds every game, which is 20th and 1st in the NBA.

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Cleveland

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