As if things in Charlotte couldn’t have been more exciting, the Hornets just went band for band with the San Antonio Spurs this afternoon.

On an unlikely snowy afternoon in the Queen City, the NBA opted to push the game up a few hours from its previous 3 p.m. tipoff to play at noon.

It didn’t stop the Hornets faithful from showing up in droves, as the sold out crowd at the Spectrum Center was rocking with a 111-106 matinee win.

From today’s win, we have a handful of takeaways and what helped the Hornets pull out the win.

It wasn’t necessarily the sexiest start to the game. San Antonio started the game with a 27-24 lead, and then the Young Bull entered from the bench.

Collin Sexton started off dishing out an assist to a Ryan Kalkbrenner jumpshot and then did most of his damage in the second quarter.

Sexton went 3-3 from the field with 10 points and recorded a steal to inject some life into the Bees.

There has been a lot of speculation about what Sexton’s eventual role will look like for this team, and whether he may be a trade candidate, but he plays the exact type of game that young teams love.

He plays with the kind of intensity that’s needed, holding other players accountable, because a team with youthful energy like Charlotte will occasionally encounter some blunders.

When Sexton came in like a wrecking ball, it sent a subtle message to the rest of the team.

“Step up or I will.”

Brandon Miller, who had scored 20 or more points in nine consecutive games, had a very quiet first quarter, going 0-5 from the field. But he took Sexton’s aggression personally.

The second quarter was his coming out party today, scoring 18 points including a pair of 3-pointers, one that included a four-point play, and was a key contributor in Charlotte finishing off the half on a 20-4 run.

At the half, the Hornets led the Spurs 61-47.

We’ve been talking about how important Moussa Diabate has been to this Hornets team, and today proved it further.

Diabate entered the game, playing the best basketball of his career and he shut down a man you may have heard of before: Victor Wembanyama.

Wembanyama had one of his worst games all season, only posting 16 points on 6-15 from the field, as well as eight rebounds.

It was clear how much of a deterrent Diabate was to Wembanyama. Usually he’s overtaking his opponents, but Diabate who was ready to square off against a fellow Frenchman, wasn’t giving him any space.

In 33 minutes played, Diabate notched 12 points and 10 rebounds, his third double double in his last five games, along with six assists, and two blocks.

The fifth year big man has been a rallying cry for Hornets fans, as well as his teammates. With a loud “Mooooose” emanating through the crowd anytime he makes an impactful play, it creates significant momentum for the Hornets.

It’s hardly a stat that is a guarantee, but for Wembanyama, blocks typically feel like a sure thing.

Not today.

For the first time in 101 consecutive games, Wembanyama neglected to post a block.

Charlotte found a way to neutralize him, and noticed whenever he was ready to load up on a block, the Hornets dished it out on the perimeter and moved the ball at an exceptional pace.

Diabate especially was cognizant of that. He found a way to pick and choose whether or not to attack Wembanyama, and it worked flawlessly.

Every last minute loss this team endured in the beginning of the season, only made this team stronger.

Sort of like Lucario in Pokemon. The more damage he took, the stronger he got.

Charlotte entered this game with a 6-13 record in clutch game situations, and every basket San Antonio made to cut a 20-point deficit, the collective heart rate of Hornets fans continued to rise.

But Charlotte hung on strong, and used its losses as lessons, and held onto the game to keep the Hornets winning streak alive.