The hottest team in the league just got hotter following an Amazon Prime 111-106 win over the San Antonio Spurs on a snowy Saturday in Charlotte.

At home for the wintery weather, the Hornets exposed the mortal toils of “The Alien” as Victor Wembanyama shot a very human 6-of-15 from the floor and 0-for-3 from behind the arc.

While not extraterrestrial, backup point guard Collin “Bull” Sexton seemed to possess superpowers off the bench. Sexton went crazy, only missing once in 8 shots for 21 points in 18 minutes.

And forget Mark Williams, Charlotte has a new centerpiece in the front court: Frenchman Moussa Diabaté had a breakout double-double with six assists at the center position. The Horners flipped Williams for a protected 2029 first-round pick and No. 29 pick that would become Liam McNeely from the Phoenix Suns last summer after the Lakers trade for Dalton Knecht fell through.

While McNeely splits time between the G-League, Charlotte has won six games in a row for the first time since a 2016 team headlined by Kemba Walker, Tyler Hansbrough, and another young Frenchman, Nicolas Batum.

And as the snow threatens to derail basketball seasons across the East Coast, the Charlotte Hornets have taken advantage of the early game times. The “matinee marauders,” as they have become known, are undeterred by the modest, midday crowds gathered for them at the Spectrum Center.

Instead, the smaller, quieter stadium atmosphere appears to rattle opponents, who come out flat in the first quarter — as the Spurs did — or endure an outright dog-walking, like the Philadelphia 76ers a week earlier.

Despite there not being enough people to fill out the upper deck, the Charlotte crowd gets into it when the team starts rolling.

At first, Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel looked like they would falter in their string of hot shooting games. Wembanyama, as he does, was making everybody rethink their shot attempts. But the hesitancy was a positive for Charlotte, who didn’t allow the league leader in blocks to reject a single one of their shots on Saturday. 

Once Miller and Kneuppel hit a shot of the dribble, Charlotte fans took a selective collective sigh. The Hornets led by as much as 20 points in the third quarter before the Spurs came storming back.

You knew things were going their way when Grant Williams turned a bobbled pass into a stepback three over Wemby in the second half. Or when LaMelo Ball isolated the big freak on an island, before blowing past him and leading him right into a faceful of Miller for a four-point play. 

San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson and his squad tried to walk it down” late in the game, but even with the burst from North Carolina journeymen Harrison Barnes, the Spurs never regained the lead or the momentum.

In the game’s biggest moment, it was the Hornets’ youngest superstar, Brandon Miller, who iced the game from the free-throw line with 10 seconds remaining to put a stamp on a statement victory.

To see the Hornets not only play, but win in a spotlight window, shows this isn’t the same team as the last few seasons.

The question marks around Ball’s levels of commitment to winning and seriousness have vanished. Any regrets or discontent over drafting Miller No. 2 overall behind Wemby have faded.

This team is largely on the up and up with a young coach in Charles Lee with much to prove, and a roster flush with young talent; the ceiling for this organization is higher than it’s ever been.

Now at 3-0 in the sunshine, the Hornets have another chance at a daytime delight in an adjusted 3 p.m. tip-off against the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday afternoon as the snow melts in Uptown. 

STATS

Brandon Miller — 26 PTS (9-9 FT), 8 REB

LaMelo Ball — 16 PTS, 8 REB, 8 AST

Collin Sexton — 21 PTS (5-5 3FG), 3 AST

Moussa Diabaté — 12 PTS, 10 REB, 6 AST