The Washington Wizards beat the Charlotte Hornets 95-79 on Friday night in their NBA Cup opener, which Yahoo Sports described as a win built on "a swarming and stingy defense" after a slow offensive start. Anthony Davis had 25 points and 13 rebounds, per Sportsnet and Deadspin. Trae Young added 21 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. ESPN's recap led with rookie AJ Dybantsa, who scored 17 points in his home debut. Sportsnet has him with eight rebounds, and our box score agrees.
Yahoo says Washington took control midway through the second quarter, closing the half on a 16-8 run for a 51-46 lead, and that the run carried into the third. Our box score shows how far it went. The Wizards outscored Charlotte 28-13 in the third quarter and led by as many as 25. The Hornets never led by more than 10.
The shooting numbers match the "anemic" label Deadspin gave Charlotte. The Hornets shot 30 of 101 from the field (30 percent) and 12 of 56 from three. Brandon Miller scored 19 on 7-of-24 shooting, and Naz Reid had 12 points and 11 rebounds on 5 of 17. Charlotte did win the offensive glass 18-9, and Moussa Diabate pulled seven of his 12 rebounds there, but it turned that into little.
Washington was not especially sharp either, shooting 28 of 73 (38 percent) with 15 total turnovers. It won at the line, going 29 of 35 to Charlotte's 7 of 12. Young was 12 of 14 on free throws and Davis 9 of 10. Dybantsa shot 5 of 11 and made 6 of 7 free throws, and Kyshawn George added 12 points with four threes.
Davis has been steady all season. Across Washington's five regular-season games, his log adds up to 125 points, which is 25.0 a game, and 46 rebounds. He scored 29 with 10 rebounds in the Wizards' 110-103 loss at Charlotte on Monday, and 18 in Wednesday's 121-111 loss at Cleveland. Friday's win gave him a second night with 25 or more points in the three games since that loss to the Hornets.
The result leaves both clubs at 3-2. Washington leads the Southeast at 3-2 with a one-game winning streak. Charlotte is second and has lost two straight, having also dropped 97-89 at Detroit on Wednesday. The Hornets play Philadelphia on Saturday. The Wizards go to Orlando on Monday, Nov. 2.
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