October 31, 2026 at 4:52 AM UTC

Postgame Report

Wizards Answer Hornets in NBA Cup Opener, 95-79

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With AJ Dybantsa back from an ankle injury, Washington turned the week's earlier loss to Charlotte around in a 16-point win to open NBA Cup Group Play.

The Wizards got AJ Dybantsa back Friday night and got their payback along with him, beating the Charlotte Hornets 95-79 at home. The No. 1 pick had missed the first four games with an ankle injury. Washington looked like a team that had been waiting for him, and the 16-point margin was never in much doubt late.

The game also opened Group Play in the NBA Cup, which gave a early-season night some tournament stakes. Washington starts with a win in its group. Charlotte, which came in having beaten the Wizards earlier in the week, starts with a hole to climb out of.

That earlier game was a 110-103 Charlotte win over a Washington team that lost to a shorthanded Hornets group. The Wizards did not have to wait long for the rematch, and they held Charlotte to 79 points this time. The Hornets had leaned heavily on Brandon Miller, who scored a career-high 39 against Washington and strung together three straight 30-point games. On Friday the team as a whole never found that kind of scoring.

The result evens things out in the early standings. Washington moves from 2-3 to 3-3 and gets back to .500. Charlotte, 3-2 coming in, drops to 3-3 after losing to the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday and then failing to bounce back here.

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