Pistons 96 - 87 Wizards
Final
  for this game

Pistons top Wizards again

Dec 23, 2012 - 4:36 AM 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.

"It was a great win. We got a little rattled with their press in the third quarter, but we came through with a great win," Stuckey said.

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.

"Right now we are in a funk, we have to get ourselves out of it," Crawford said. "Everybody is second guessing themselves, we just have to continue to work."

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.






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