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Hapless Wizards visit desperate Pistons

Mar 6, 2011 - 4:05 PM (Sports Network) - The Washington Wizards go in search of just their second road win of the season tonight when they face off with the Detroit Pistons at The Palace.

The Wizards will be without head coach Flip Saunders, who will miss the game in order to attend his mother's wake and funeral. Kay Saunders, 90, died Friday morning in suburban Cleveland.

"She was an unbelievable fan of the NBA," Saunders told the Washington Post when asked about his mother. "If I wanted to know more about the NBA, I called her, because she watched all day. She watched NBATV. She knew everything that was going on."

Saunders was on the sidelines on Saturday, however, when John Wall finished with 18 points, a career- high 11 rebounds and eight assists to lead five Wizards in double figures, as Washington topped Minnesota, 103-96, despite another double-double from Kevin Love.

Andray Blatche scored a team-high 20 points with seven rebounds and seven assists as Washington snapped a seven-game skid. Maurice Evans added 15 points in a reserve role while JaVale McGee scored 14 with seven boards in the win.

Rashard Lewis rounded out the double-digit scorers as the Wizards played with an increased passion for Saunders, who had missed the team's three previous games while dealing with his ailing mother.

"It meant a lot," Saunders said of the win. "I know how (much) an avid supporter she is of me individually, but also how much of a supporter and a fan she was."

Love paced the Timberwolves with 20 points and 21 rebounds for his 50th straight double-double -- one shy of matching Moses Malone for the league's post-merger record.

The Pistons, meanwhile, dropped the opener of a brief two-game homestand on Wednesday when Love recorded his 48th consecutive double-double with 20 points and 20 rebounds, leading Minnesota in a 116-105 victory over Detroit.

Austin Daye scored 22 points to pace the Pistons, who have lost two in a row and five of six. Greg Monroe had 18 points and 11 rebounds in the setback, while Rodney Stuckey added 11 points and 10 assists.

"Any time you score 105 points, that should be enough points to get a victory," said Pistons head coach John Kuester. "But we have to make more of a commitment every day and change the culture of our thinking defensively. Just making sure that we defend people."

Detroit, which has won seven straight over the Wizards, is now 5 1/2 games behind eighth-place Indiana in the Eastern Conference with just 19 to play. Washington is an NBA-worst 1-28 on the road this season.