Friday night featured the final scheduled games for the 2017 NBA preseason, including a matchup involving the Dallas Mavericks vs. the Charlotte Hornets. In the two teams' final exhibition game, Kemba Walker helped lead the home team to a 15-point victory. Rookie Malik Monk and big man Dwight Howard also made contributions. Here's the latest Mavs vs. Hornets game recap including top players, statistics, and what's up next on the schedule for these teams.

Game recap

The Charlotte Hornets jumped out to a 28-27 lead in the first quarter, but Dallas' 29-26 second quarter gave them a 56-54 lead at the half.

In the third quarter, Charlotte outscored the visitors again, 28-25 before putting on a furious 29-15 fourth quarter to take the game. Tonight's end result was a 111-96 win as the Hornets look towards the regular season.

Kemba Walker led the way in tonight's win for the Hornets. The NBA All-Star shot 7-of-14 from the field and finished with a team-high 18 points along with four assists and four rebounds. Dwight Howard scored just eight points but also had 12 rebounds in the effort while Frank Kaminsky had 12 points to go with seven boards. Hornets rookie Malik Monk continues to get his time on the court. Tonight he played 30 minutes and racked up 14 points on 5-for-11 shooting.

For the opponents, Harrison Barnes led the Dallas Mavericks with 24 points on 8-for-19 shooting.

Veteran Dirk Nowitzki had 14 points to go with nine rebounds while rookie Dennis Smith Jr. had 10 points and nine assists. Point guard J.J. Barea came off the bench to shoot 4-for-10 and had 13 points in the losing effort for Dallas.

For the game, the Mavs shot at a rate of 41.2 percent overall and 38.7 percent from long range.

Charlotte knocked down their shots at a rate of nearly 50 percent tonight including an impressive 56.7 percent from downtown. They also grabbed 50 rebounds compared to 37 for the visitors. The Hornets managed to take this game despite 22 turnovers while Dallas had 15.

What's up next?

Dallas concludes their NBA preseason with a record of 4-2 overall and 1-2 on the road.

They'll begin their NBA regular season on Wednesday when they host the Atlanta Hawks starting at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

The Hornets went 2-3 overall and 1-1 on their home court for their exhibition games. The team will now get ready for the week ahead when they'll open their season on the road. That game against the Pistons takes place in Detroit on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Eastern Time.
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