Entering Friday Night, this early-season matchup between the Washington Wizards and Charlotte Hornets had high stakes.

​Most importantly, it was the first NBA Cup game of the season for both teams to eventually crown a champion on December 11th, but for the Wizards, it could be argued this was a win they needed to set a different tone than previous seasons for the team.

​Losing their last five contests against the Charlotte Hornets, including a loss on Monday at Charlotte, it was imperative that the Wizards turn their fortunes around back at home after a three-game road trip that ended with a 1-2 record.

So third year Hornets Head Coach Charles Lee had ideas of making it six in a row, but this time the added component of No.1 overall pick AJ Dybantsa would be added to the equation for Wizards Head Coach Brian Keefe’s team.

Speaking about the problems Dybantsa could cause, Lee in pregame said: “He’s a very good player. I think their whole team is very well coached; they play well off of each other, but Dybantsa gives them another isolation scorer, a guy that can create his own shot and create for others.”

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And Dybantsa showed that early on, netting an impressive 10 points (3-for-5 FG) along with 4 rebounds in the 1st half.

​Despite this, the Hornets came out fast, going up by as many as 10 points on the back of 13-year veteran Point Guard Dennis Schröder and Royce O’Neal, who scored 6 points in the 1st off of two 3PTs as Charlotte led through one quarter 26-22.

​From there on, it was all Wizards, though as the stifling defense on the part of holding the Hornets to 31.8% from the floor in the 2nd and 19% in the 3rd went a long way in building an impressive 20 point lead for the Wizards entering.

​Kyshawn George got it started in the 3rd quarter with back to back threes to extend the lead, along with 4-time All Star Trae Young who, despite just shooting 1-3 in the 3rd had an impressive +17 in plus/minus showing his stamp on the rout of the Hornets.

​Or we thought was a route, as Coach Lee’s team came out with an intensity in the 4th making it known that the Wizards were going to have to fight to truly put his Hornets away dropping the lead from as high to 25 to just 14 before the stellar play of 10-time All Star Anthony Davis, George and Dybantsa made sure to extend the lead and bring the fans at Capital One Arena to their feet after an and-1 by Dybantsa which resulted in “MVP” chants for the rookie in only his 2nd game.

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Dybantsa’s 17 points and 8 rebounds, along with stars Trae Young’s 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 9 assists and Anthony Davis’s team-high 25 points and 13 rebounds led the way as the Wizards put an end to their losing ways against the Hornets and moved back to .500 at 3-3 on the young season with a 95-79 win.