Wizards 97, Pistons 95
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Nene Hilario scored a season-high 18 points off the bench and the Washington Wizards held off the Detroit Pistons 97-95 on Saturday night at The Palace.
Small forward Otto Porter Jr. supplied 17 points and center Marcin Gortat and reserve guard Ramon Sessions contributed 14 points apiece for Washington (6-4).
Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal returned to action after missing three games with a sore left shoulder and had seven points. Point guard John Wall was held to eight points and seven assists.
Point guard Reggie Jackson's 20 points and nine assists led Detroit (7-6). Small forward Marcus Morris and power forward Ersan Ilyasova had 18 points apiece and shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 16.
Pistons center Andre Drummond saw his streak of consecutive double-doubles to start the season end at 12 as he finished with eight points and 13 rebounds. He came up one shy of the franchise mark. Dave DeBusschere had 13 consecutive double-doubles to start the 1966-67 season.
The third quarter featured two big runs. The Pistons scored 13 straight points, including two 3-pointers by Caldwell-Pope, to gain an 11-point lead. But the Wizards roared back with 17-4 run the remainder of the quarter to take a 75-73 lead. Sessions sparked it with five points, four assists and a steal.
Morris' putback with 5:46 left gave Detroit a one-point advantage. Washington responded with jumpers from Beal and Wall, along with a Nene layup, to make it 94-89.
Gortat's layup with 1:06 remaining gave the Wizards a 96-91 lead. After Ilyasova scored, Morris had a chance to tie it but missed an open 3-point try.
Leading 97-95, Washington committed a five-second inbounds violation with 9.2 seconds left. Morris took the last shot from the top of the key, but it glanced off the rim.
Nene made all seven of his shots from the field in the first half as the Wizards built a 14-point lead, only to get caught before the half ended. The Pistons finished the second quarter on a 20-6 run behind Jackson and Morris, who had 14 points apiece during the half.
NOTES: Pistons C Andre Drummond is just the second player in the last 22 seasons with at least 12 straight points/rebounds double-doubles to start a season. Kevin Love had 15 in a row at the beginning of the 2011-12 season. "You're almost shocked when he only has 11 (rebounds) and that's his low for the year," Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy said. "It's a pretty incredible start for him on the boards.' ... Washington PF Kris Humphries made 14 3-pointers during its first nine games after not making any since the 2004-05 season. ... The Wizards were 4-0 when holding opponents below 100 points. ... Detroit rookie SF Stanley Johnson scored eight late-game points in the team's comeback win at Minnesota on Friday night. "He's not afraid of any of those situations," Van Gundy said. ... The teams play three more times, all after the All-Star break.