Especially costly turnovers early allowed Washington to get back in the game and especially good 3-point shooting by the Wizards kept the Pistons from coming back. The Wiz defeated the Pistons, 122-112 Saturday (AEDT) in Detroit.
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Trailing by 20 late in the third quarter, the Pistons pulled within four with four minutes to play, sparked by the return of Stanley Johnson and the scoring of Luke Kennard.
Johnson added some badly needed defense after Washington erupted for 45 points in the third quarter to snap a halftime tie, while Kennard scored all 16 of his points in the fourth quarter. But the Wizards got big 3-point baskets from Kelly Oubre, Bradley Beal and John Wall in the fourth quarter and made 16 of 35 for the game from the arc. Oubre finished with 26 points and hit 5 of 9 threes while Beal (26) and Otto Porter hit four apiece.
The Pistons started off superbly – active on defense and crisp on offense – in running up a 29-14 lead. They led by 10 after the first quarter, but Stan Van Gundy’s second unit committed four turnovers in the first three minutes of the second quarter – the worst kind, live-ball turnovers that led to three Washington layups – and that got the Wizards back in the game. Then John Wall, who went scoreless in the first half, scored 10 points in the first four minutes of the third quarter as the Wizards broke a halftime tie to open a double-digit lead that quickly as three quick turnovers again helped fuel Washington’s burst. Andre Drummond finished with 14 points, 21 rebounds and eight assists, the latter tying a career high.
Luke Kennard scored all 16 of his points in the fourth quarter, hitting 3 of 4 from the 3-point line and all five of his free throws. The Pistons, No. 3 in the NBA in 3-point shooting at 38.4 percent, shot 10 of 30 from the 3-point arc. Tobias Harris opened 4 for 4 and scored nine points in the first four minutes, but finished just 7 of 19 and didn’t play in the fourth quarter. The Pistons are 0-3 against the Wizards this season.
