Wizards hold the Hornets to 79 in a 95-79 Cup win

The shooting night

Charlotte led by 10 in the first quarter after starting 4 of 10 from 3-point range, and then the floor opened up beneath them. Over the rest of the game the Hornets made four of their next 29 attempts from long range.

The final line was brutal: 29.7 percent from the field for the game and 12 of 56 from 3-point range. Anything built on that is not an offense, it is a countdown.

The Hornets are now responsible for the two lowest-scoring games in the NBA this season, having produced 81 points in an October 23 loss as well.

Charlotte's roster is missing Kon Knueppel, Coby White and Grant Williams, all with injuries. That explains some of it, and it does not explain 12 of 56.

A team that makes 4 of its first 10 threes and then 4 of its next 29 is not being defended differently. Charlotte's shot quality fell apart after the first six minutes, and Washington did not have to do anything exotic to cause it.

Davis and the paint

Anthony Davis finished with 25 points and 13 rebounds, and the number that does not appear in the box score is the one the Wizards' broadcast kept mentioning: he made the paint a place Charlotte did not want to enter.

Washington's defense was organized in a way that has not always been true this season. Rotations were crisp, the help arrived early and the Hornets rarely got an open look even when the Wizards conceded one.

Davis also set the tone on the glass. A 13-rebound night from a center in a game his team wins by 16 is not a coincidence; it is the reason the game was that margin.

Washington is 3-3 after the win, and it has won two of its last three.

Washington's best defensive stretch came in the third quarter, when it held Charlotte to 13 points. The Wizards were not trapping; they were rotating early and staying in front of the ball.

Young's strange 21

Trae Young finished with 21 points on nine field goal attempts, which is a line that only makes sense once you see the free throw column: he shot 12 of 14 from the line.

He also had nine assists and seven rebounds, and he entered the night fifth in the NBA in drawing fouls. Charlotte had no answer for his changes of pace.

That is the version of Young the Wizards need: a player who bends a defense without needing to take 20 shots to do it.

The offense around him was not good, either. Washington made 41.9 percent of its 2-point attempts and 10 of 30 from three, and won by 16 anyway.

The 12-of-14 at the line is the part Charlotte will regret. Fouling a guard who is fifth in the league at drawing contact is a decision, and the Hornets kept making it.

The rookie's second game

Dybantsa missed the start of the season with an ankle injury, then played his first game Wednesday night and scored 19 points in a loss at Cleveland.

Friday he looked composed again in his second game, and the Wizards used him in a way that suggests the plan is to keep him involved rather than protect him.

That matters for a team that is not expected to compete for a title this season. The development curve is the season.

He also had a putback in the fourth quarter negated by a basket interference call, in the kind of sequence that tells you he is around the ball.

The Cup context

This was the first night of NBA Cup play, and Washington's win is worth more than a regular-season win of the same size because of the group table.

Charlotte, meanwhile, is already behind on point differential after one game. In a four-game group, a 16-point loss is a real handicap.

The Wizards' group also includes teams that will punish a bad shooting night less than Charlotte did. One game does not settle anything.

For Charlotte, the question is whether this was a cold night or the shape of the team. The roster says one thing and the shot chart says another.

A 16-point win is a good result wherever it happens, and in a group stage it is also a tiebreaker asset. Washington banked something real on the first night.

What to watch

Three things. First, Charlotte's shooting. The Hornets have now had two of the worst offensive nights in the league this season, and the injured players are not walking back through the door this week.

Second, Washington's defense. Friday was the best it has looked, and the Wizards have been inconsistent enough that one game is not evidence.

Third, Dybantsa's minutes. A rookie taken first overall should be playing through mistakes in a season like this one, and so far he is.

Fourth, Charlotte's rotation. Reid returned to the starting lineup after being benched at Detroit, and the Hornets need to decide whether that is a permanent move or a reaction to one bad half.

Washington will take the tiebreaker help and move on; Charlotte has a film session waiting.