Morris' late basket helps Pistons jolt Wizards
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Marcus Morris made a putback at the buzzer to give the Detroit Pistons a 113-112 victory over the Washington Wizards on Saturday at The Palace.
The Pistons, who gave away a 16-point lead in the fourth quarter, got off three shots during a wild scramble in the closing seconds before Morris' game-winner. Morris finished with a game-high 25 points and 11 rebounds.
Reggie Jackson had 19 points and eight assists and Tobias Harris supplied 18 points, nine rebounds and five assists for the Pistons (21-24), who have won three straight. Joe Leuer scored 10 off the bench after missing the previous five games with a knee injury.
Pistons center Andre Drummond was held to three points because of foul trouble.
John Wall had 19 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds for Washington (23-20). Markieff Morris contributed 19 points and nine rebounds, Bradley Beal had 17 points and Jason Smith scored a season-high 16 for the Wizards.
Detroit used a 13-3 run early in the third to gain a 74-61 lead. Reggie Bullock and Marcus Morris made back-to-back 3-pointers to complete that run.
The Pistons maintained a double-digit advantage the rest of the quarter and took a 98-82 lead into the fourth.
Washington began the fourth with a 11-2 run, finished off by a Smith putback to make it 100-93. Kelly Oubre's corner 3-pointer with 4:39 remaining cut Detroit's lead to 107-104. Following a Pistons' turnover, Markieff Morris dunked to bring the Wizards within one.
Markieff Morris dunked again off a Wall feed to put the Wizards up 110-109 with 2:14 remaining. Marcus Morris put Detroit back in front with a jumper but Beal made two free throws with 1:13 left to give the Wizards a 112-111 edge.
In the closing seconds, Jackson misfired a jumper and Harris had a shot deflected, got it back and missed again before Morris' game-winner.
The Pistons shot 53.5 percent from the field in the opening half and led 61-55 at the break. Marcus Morris led the way with 12 points and Jackson had 11 but Drummond, who picked up three fouls, was held scoreless. Wall reached the 15-point mark by halftime.
NOTES: Pistons SG Kentavious Caldwell-Pope missed his fourth consecutive game with a rotator cuff strain. ... Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy denied the team was interested in trading PG Reggie Jackson to Minnesota for PG Ricky Rubio, a rumor reported on ESPN.com. "We don't have any deal right now that we're even close to considering," he said. "(GM) Jeff Bowers' job is to have discussions every day." ... Wizards coach Scott Brooks said assistant coach Sidney Lowe didn't intentionally distract New York's Courtney Lee in the closing seconds of Washington's 113-110 win on Thursday. Lowe was fined $5,000 for potentially impacting game action, and the Wizards' organization was fined $15,000. "Sidney was on the court for a second," Brooks said. "He would not say anything or do anything to influence the game at all." ... Washington was 9-1 when holding opponents under 100 points.