(SportsNetwork.com) – The Washington Wizards return home from a two-game
roadie for four straight, starting Wednesday night when the Detroit Pistons
visit the Verizon Center.
The Wiz went 1-1 on the sojourn, losing to the ultra-tough Toronto Raptors on
Friday. Washington pulled out a 97-90 victory Saturday night over the Indiana
Pacers.
“We couldn’t make a shot yesterday,” All-Star point guard John Wall said after
the win on Saturday. “Today we just did a better job moving the ball and
getting our defense going.”
Wall scored 18 points and the Wizards held off Indiana for the second time
this week.
Nene did a little bit of everything, finishing with 17 points, seven rebounds,
five assists and a big steal with 30 seconds remaining that helped the Wizards
hold off a late rally by the Pacers.
After trailing by as many as 22 points, Indiana had it down to five with under
a minute left. Out of a timeout, Chris Copeland tried to break down Nene, but
the big man swiped the ball free and chased it down. He found Paul Pierce, who
canned two free throws to help secure the game.
Kevin Seraphin chipped in 13 points off the bench for Washington, which
bounced back from a humbling 19-point loss to Toronto on Friday and had lost
12 straight regular-season games in Indianapolis.
The Pistons have dropped two straight after a two-game winning streak.
On Sunday, Detroit fell at home to the Utah Jazz by a point, then fell at the
United Center, 102-91, Monday night to Central Division rivals, the Chicago
Bulls.
Derrick Rose returned for the Bulls and Chicago built a 17-point lead in the
second half. The Pistons battled to make it a ball game.
Josh Smith had 19 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Pistons. Greg Monroe
added 16 points and 10 rebounds and D.J. Augustin added 16 points off the
bench.
Caron Butler’s right-corner 3-pointer got the Pistons within 87-84 with 4:41
remaining and they were as close as two minutes later on Augustin’s bucket,
but scored just three points over the last 2:43.
“The second half tonight was a positive for us by and large,” said Pistons
coach Stan Van Gundy. “But, when you give away the first half and then play
better, but still come up short, I can’t accept it. You have to play to win.”
The Pistons have won eight of the last 10 meetings between the two teams and
four of their last five in Washington D.C.
