The Wizards started out sagging deep off of Detroit’s shooters. They had no desire to get burned on penetration. The Pistons responded with a shooting clinic in the first quarter. They hit their first six three-point attempts and nine of their first eleven–opening up as much as a 19-point lead. Give credit to Washington for adjusting though. They started playing a lot tighter on the perimeter. That opened up the lane where Reggie Jackson feasted. But anytime he came out, the Wizards destroyed the Pistons. And they held their own even when he was in because his penetration was really the only thing Detroit had going anymore.
The key to the Pistons’ win was getting the Wizards into the penalty very early in the fourth quarter and continuing to be aggressive. They earned a ton of free throws and it’s just really hard to shoot well enough to make up for the other team getting freebies. We can’t know for sure whether the Pistons would have won if Wall was playing. But they closed the game like they just weren’t willing to lose.