Pistons 112, Wizards 99
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Reggie Jackson poured in 39 points, one shy of his career high, and the Detroit Pistons clinched their first playoff berth in seven seasons by topping the Washington Wizards 112-99 on Friday at The Palace.
Tobias Harris had 17 points and pulled down nine rebounds for Detroit (43-37), which gave away a 19-point lead but recovered to end the longest playoff drought in the Eastern Conference. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope tossed in 14 points and Marcus Morris contributed 13 for the Pistons, who will make their first postseason appearance since the 2008-09 season.
All-Star Andre Drummond, who scored his 4,000th career point, was limited to eight points and six rebounds.
Markieff Morris' 29 points led the Wizards (38-41), who were eliminated from playoff contention. Bradley Beal supplied 25 points for Washington, which played without All-Star point guard John Wall. He sat out for the second straight night with a sore right knee.
Marcus Morris scored six points in a 39-second span, capping off a 13-4 Pistons spurt that gave them an 81-65 lead midway through the third quarter.
Marcus' brother carried the Wizards back in the game.
Markieff Morris, who had five first-half points, scored 20 in the quarter. He capped off his flurry with a heave beyond midcourt that swished through as the buzzer sounded to cut Detroit's advantage to 86-84.
Markieff's free throws in the opening minute of the fourth tied it. His dunk with 10:04 left put Washington on top 89-88.
Jackson reached the 30-point mark with two free throws to give Detroit a 100-94 lead halfway through the fourth. Jackson's three-point play with 2:45 remaining made it 103-96 and his 3-pointer 33 seconds later put the game away.
The Pistons tied the season high for first-quarter points while racing to a 39-25 lead.
Jackson gave Detroit its biggest lead of the half with a 3-pointer to make it 52-33. The Wizards then climbed back, finishing the half with a 22-10 run to pull within 62-55.
NOTES: Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy met with rookie SF Stanley Johnson after pulling the lottery pick from the rotation prior to the last game. Johnson shot 29 percent from the field in 14 games after returning from a shoulder injury. "Is it the injury? Did he hit the (rookie) wall? I don't know," Van Gundy said. "I'm not really trying to figure out why." ... The Pistons have their highest win total since the 2007-08 season when they won 59 games. ... C Andre Drummond (66) is the second Pistons' player to lead the league in double-doubles. G Isiah Thomas had the most double-doubles (65) in 1984-85. ... The Wizards won the previous three meetings by an average of 19 points. ... Washington PG John Wall is the first player since Steve Nash in 2010-11 to have at least 50 10-assist games in a single season.