Final
Wizards back home to face Pistons
Nov 12, 2014 - 2:41 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Washington Wizards return home from a two-game roadie for four straight, starting Wednesday night when the Detroit Pistons visit the Verizon Center.The Wiz went 1-1 on the sojourn, losing to the ultra-tough Toronto Raptors on Friday. Washington pulled out a 97-90 victory Saturday night over the Indiana Pacers.
"We couldn't make a shot yesterday," All-Star point guard John Wall said after the win on Saturday. "Today we just did a better job moving the ball and getting our defense going."
Wall scored 18 points and the Wizards held off Indiana for the second time this week.
Nene did a little bit of everything, finishing with 17 points, seven rebounds, five assists and a big steal with 30 seconds remaining that helped the Wizards hold off a late rally by the Pacers.
After trailing by as many as 22 points, Indiana had it down to five with under a minute left. Out of a timeout, Chris Copeland tried to break down Nene, but the big man swiped the ball free and chased it down. He found Paul Pierce, who canned two free throws to help secure the game.
Kevin Seraphin chipped in 13 points off the bench for Washington, which bounced back from a humbling 19-point loss to Toronto on Friday and had lost 12 straight regular-season games in Indianapolis.
The Pistons have dropped two straight after a two-game winning streak.
On Sunday, Detroit fell at home to the Utah Jazz by a point, then fell at the United Center, 102-91, Monday night to Central Division rivals, the Chicago Bulls.
Derrick Rose returned for the Bulls and Chicago built a 17-point lead in the second half. The Pistons battled to make it a ball game.
Josh Smith had 19 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Pistons. Greg Monroe added 16 points and 10 rebounds and D.J. Augustin added 16 points off the bench.
Caron Butler's right-corner 3-pointer got the Pistons within 87-84 with 4:41 remaining and they were as close as two minutes later on Augustin's bucket, but scored just three points over the last 2:43.
"The second half tonight was a positive for us by and large," said Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy. "But, when you give away the first half and then play better, but still come up short, I can't accept it. You have to play to win."
The Pistons have won eight of the last 10 meetings between the two teams and four of their last five in Washington D.C.
Nov 12 9:34 PM- DETROIT: 85
WASHINGTON: 82
End of 3rd
Nov 12 8:54 PM - DETROIT: 59
WASHINGTON: 57
Halftime
Nov 12 8:14 PM - DETROIT: 34
WASHINGTON: 24
End of 1st
Nov 12 7:39 PM - DETROIT: 0
WASHINGTON: 0
1st Quarter - 11:36
Nov 12 7:12 PM
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