(Field Level Media) Bradley Beal scored 22 points to lead six Washington players in double figures, and the Wizards pulled away in the second half to defeat the Detroit Pistons 115-99 yesterday, snapping a three-game losing streak.
Troy Brown Jr. scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, Thomas Bryant had 14 points, and Washington’s defense clamped down after allowing 131 points to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
Three Wizards chipped in 12 points apiece, including CJ Miles, who was making his season debut after recovering from a foot injury.
Luke Kenard led Detroit with 24 points, and Andre Drummond had 15 points and 24 rebounds. Bruce Brown made his second start at point guard and finished with 14 points and seven assists.
The Pistons were again without Derrick Rose (hamstring), Blake Griffin (left knee soreness) and Tim Frazier (shoulder).
Washington’s reserves outscored the Detroit bench 53-31.
Isaiah Thomas made his first start at point guard for Washington, finishing with nine points and six assists in 24 minutes. The Wizards led by six midway through the third quarter when Bryant’s dunk followed by Isaac Bonga’s floater made it 78-68. Davis Bertans’ 3-pointer put the Wizards up 90-75, and they took a 93-78 lead into the fourth quarter.
Beal’s layup pushed the Washington lead to 17 points with just over seven minutes left.Brown’s layup pulled Detroit within 107-95 with 3:37 remaining, but Washington quickly pushed the lead back to 16.
Washington scored the first seven points of the second quarter to take a 38-30 lead.
Later in the period, Ish Smith’s jumper started a 9-0 run that was capped when Rai Hachimura converted an alley-oop pass from Smith to make it 54-37 Wizards with 5:44 left in the half.
The Pistons chipped away, however, and Tony Snell’s jumper late in the quarter sent the Pistons into halftime trailing 63-61.