The Hornets entered this game after a road trip that capped off with a 124-97 thrashing of the Orlando Magic. The Hornets opened this game with the Wizards with a bang as well.

However, after leading by as many as 18 late in the third quarter, the Wizards managed to cut the lead all the way down to two with three seconds to go. The Hornets would end up finishing the deal with a 119-115 win.

Here's the bigger story. The Hornets have now won five of their last eight games and are starting to turn some heads nationally. They have also been one of the most bet teams over the last week to make the playoffs. 

The other thing that has happened is that the lineup of LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges, Brandon Miller, Kon Knueppel, and Moussa Diabate is a real hit. The Charlotte Hornets are also now 9-2 with that specific starting lineup.

There appears to be a real groove there for Moussa Diabate at the five, even though he's probably more traditionally a four. 

Since Ryan Kalkbrenner's injury back in December that had him out for about a month, Moussa has stepped in and one could also make the argument that he's taken that starting spot.

What we saw from Moussa while Kalkbrenner was out is that even though Kalkbrenner is bigger, Moussa tends to give you more explosiveness offensively and that has fit in with the offensive flow that Charlotte has been developing night in and night out.

Another positive for the Hornets is that this stretch of games is one of the longest stretches of consecutive games LaMelo Ball has played in his NBA career at 20 games. The minutes restrictions that Charles Lee has imposed, while fans have not always loved it, clearly seem to be working. The Hornets recent success is certainly one of the results of LaMelo being able to play in that many games consistently.

Coming into tonight the Hornets were 1st in the NBA in offensive rating, 2nd chance points, and three point percentage over their last 15 games. Real data that shows the Hornets are actually building this year in a way they haven't in years past. 

Charlotte will host the Sixers on Monday night.