Hornets vs Pacers Prediction, Picks & Odds for Tonight’s NBA Game

Scimia's prediction: Hornets make quick work of Pacers.

Ed Scimia - Contributor at Covers.com
Ed Scimia • Betting Analyst
Feb 26, 2026 • 12:35 ET • 4 min read

NBA

Match starts: 4 hrs
CHA
45 %
IND
55 %
Read Analysis
Charlotte Hornets guard Kon Knueppel (7) dribbles the ball.
Photo By - Reuters Connect. Charlotte Hornets guard Kon Knueppel (7) dribbles the ball.

The Charlotte Hornets will try to run their road trip winning streak to three games as they visit the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night.

Indiana hasn’t come close to covering in any of its last four games, so I’m taking a surging Charlotte squad to win big in my Hornets vs. Pacers predictions for tonight.

Let’s take a deeper look at this Eastern Conference matchup in my free NBA picks for Thursday, February 26.

Hornets vs Pacers prediction

Hornets vs Pacers best bet: Hornets -13 (-110)

The Indiana Pacers have lost four straight games and have failed to cover in any of them, losing by 21 as an 11.5-point underdog to the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday. Indiana is allowing 119.2 ppg on the year and has allowed more than 130 points to each of its last three opponents.

The Charlotte Hornets have covered in nine of their last 10 games, including its last five games as a favorite. The Hornets are averaging 130.0 ppg on their current road trip and have too many weapons for the Pacers to handle. I’m taking Charlotte to cover as a big favorite tonight.

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Hornets vs Pacers same-game parlay

Both teams have played to totals of 230+ points in each of their last three games, and they’re averaging a total of 235.5 in their first two meetings this year, so I’m confident in including the Over in my SGP.

I’ll also take Hornets rookie Kon Kuneppel to score Over 17.5 points, something he’s done in each of his last three games.

Hornets vs Pacers SGP

  • Hornets -13
  • Over 229.5
  • Knueppel Over 17.5 points

Our "from downtown" SGP: A deep sting

Charlotte has no shortage of players who can fire away from deep, and I’m going to bet on three of them to hit their targets for my longshot parlay tonight. LaMelo Ball, Knueppel, and Brandon Miller have all hit this target in at least two of their last three games, and they’ve had plenty of nights where all three have done so at the same time, making this a realistic scenario in a high-scoring Hornets win.

Hornets vs Pacers SGP

  • Hornets -13
  • Ball Over 3.5 threes
  • Knueppel Over 3.5 threes
  • Miller Over 2.5 threes

Hornets vs Pacers odds

  • Spread: Hornets -13 | Pacers -13
  • Moneyline: Hornets -850 | Pacers +575
  • Over/Under: Over 229.5 | Under 229.5

Hornets vs Pacers betting trend to know

The Hornets are 9-1 ATS in their last 10 games overall. Find more NBA betting trends for Hornets vs. Pacers.

How to watch Hornets vs Pacers

Location Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
Date Thursday, February 26, 2026
Tip-off 7:00 p.m. ET
TV FDSN SE Charlotte, FDSN Indiana

Hornets vs Pacers latest injuries

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Ed Scimia - Covers.com
Betting Analyst

Ed Scimia has been writing about the gaming industry for over 15 years. He graduated from Syracuse University with degrees in Magazine Journalism and Political Science in 2003, and has covered major gambling events like the World Series of Poker in his career. Since joining Covers in 2022, Ed has offered his sports betting analysis primarily on MLB, NFL, college football, and college basketball games, but is willing to take on any sport.

His betting strategy focuses more on finding line value based on deviations from the market rather than traditional handicapping, primarily shopping between DraftKings, FanDuel, and Fanatics in his home state of Connecticut, though he’s not afraid to do deep game analysis to find profitable bets at any book.

Outside of gambling, Ed is an avid curler who competes in mixed doubles on the World Curling Tour and runs a popular curling YouTube channel, Chess on Ice. That experience has come in handy during the Olympics, when he has proven to be a successful curling bettor as well. 

Ed's advice to new bettors is to always open multiple sportsbook accounts and check the odds at each before placing any bet. Successful sports betting is about consistently beating the closing line value, which requires finding spots where one book is offering odds far better than the rest of the market and jumping on those opportunities.

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