Washington, DC (Sports Network) - Charlie Villanueva led five Detroit players
in double figures with 19 points as the Pistons downed the Washington Wizards,
96-87, at the Verizon Center.
Rodney Stuckey added 18 points and eight assists and Greg Monroe chipped in
with 13 points and eight boards for the Pistons, who beat the Wizards 100-68
in Detroit on Friday.
Jason Maxiell and Brandon Knight added 12 and 10 points, respectively, in the
triumph.
Jordan Crawford poured in a game-high 21 points while Emeka Okafor and Bradley
Beal added 14 points apiece for Washington, which has dropped seven straight
to fall to an NBA-worst 3-22.
The theme remained the same Saturday as the Pistons raced out to a 22-13 lead
after the first 12 minutes. Detroit opened the game with a 12-2 run capped off
with Knight's four-point play at the 5:49 mark. A Tayshaun Prince turnaround
jumper put the Piston up 22-9 with 51.9 seconds remaining in the frame, but
the Wizards scored the final four points of the period to cut the deficit to
nine.
Beal's jumper 2 1/2 minutes into the second stanza pulled the Wizards within
27-20, but Detroit countered with a 20-10 run to go up 47-30 with 3:15 left in
the first half. The Pistons outscored Washington 7-5 the rest of the way to
take a 54-35 lead into the break.
The Wizards pulled within 64-58 with just under four minutes left in the
third, but the Pistons outscored Washington 10-6 the rest of the way to hold a
74-64 advantage entering the final frame.
The Pistons pushed their spread to 85-72 with just over three minutes played
in the fourth, but the Wizards used a 9-3 surged, capped off with a Crawford
3-ball, to pull within 88-81.
Washington couldn't get closer than nine the rest of the way as the Pistons
improved to 9-21 this season.
Game Notes
Detroit dominated the offensive glass hauling in 19 offensive rebounds and
outscoring Washington 23-6 on second-chance points ... The Wizards shot just
37.7 percent (29-for-77) from the floor and were a dreadful 4-for-21 from
behind the arc.
The Sports Network