Wizards at Pistons
The Detroit Pistons are on the verge of clinching a playoff spot while the Washington Wizards sit on the brink of elimination. The Pistons will try to seal the fate of both clubs when they host the Wizards on Friday.
Detroit’s magic number to clinch a playoff spot tumbled to one when the team pulled out a 108-104 win over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday, meaning a win on Friday will put them in the playoffs and push Washington out. The Pistons have three games left to earn the one win they need and are winners of eight of their last 11. “We just continue to fight,” Detroit guard Reggie Jackson told reporters. “…We never want to lose. We just find a way to look within ourselves. All 15 just buy in and continue to play harder and harder, and we figure if we continue to do that we give ourselves a chance at the end of the game.” The Wizards, who sit 10th in the East, need to win each of their four remaining games, get at least one loss from the ninth-place Chicago Bulls and have the Pistons drop each of their final five games in order to sneak into the No. 8 spot.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, CSN Mid-Atlantic (Washington), FSN Detroit
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (38-40): Washington earned a 121-103 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday despite All-Star point guard John Wall sitting out with a knee injury. Ramon Sessions took over and collected 18 points and 13 assists while Bradley Beal scored 25 points on 11-of-15 shooting. “Ramon played great,” Wizards coach Randy Wittman told reporters. “I thought he kept a good pace to the game. For us to have 36 assists on 48 baskets - it can’t get much better than that.”
ABOUT THE PISTONS (42-37): Detroit trailed by as much as seven points in the fourth quarter at Orlando on Wednesday and was still down four with under five minutes to play before a 9-0 run put it in control for good. “Any win right now is a great win for us,” Pistons forward Tobias Harris told reporters. “It wasn’t the prettiest but we came out and kept fighting like we always do, especially coming off of a back-to-back. We didn’t get distracted and let that fatigue set in. We kept fighting and kept going and was able to pull out the victory.” Detroit trails the Indiana Pacers by a half-game for the No. 7 spot.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Wizards C Marcin Gortat is 16-of-22 from the field in the last two games.
2. Pistons rookie F Stanley Johnson is 2-of-18 from the field in his last three games and was out of the rotation on Wednesday in favor of F Reggie Bullock.
3. Washington has taken four straight in the series and crushed Detroit 124-81 at home on March 14.