Detroit Pistons fall 115-111 in tight contest with Washington Wizards

In a game marred by contentious officiating down the stretch, the Washington Wizards have pulled out a 115-111 win over the Detroit Pistons.

Despite a spirited fourth-quarter fightback, the Detroit Pistons were unable to wrestle the lead from the Washington Wizards in the final chaotic moments, which saw not one, but two jump balls in the final 30 seconds.

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The final quarter chaos was kickstarted by officiating confusion that left Stan Van Gundy and the rest of the Pistons fuming on the sidelines.

In a moment that is sure to be discussed at length, Avery Bradley seemed to be hacked on a fast-break but didn’t receive a foul call.

To rub salt in the Pistons’ wounds the officials then reviewed the play and determined the ball was out of bounds off the away team and awarded possession to the Wizards.

While the close loss will be tough to swallow, none of it would have been possible without a blistering comeback in the final nine minutes of play.

Andre Drummond picked up his sixth foul with just over nine minutes left in the fourth quarter and the team trailing by 15 points, but surprisingly, with the Pistons’ star watching from the bench they were able to rally back.

In the next two minutes and 27 seconds the Pistons, mostly on the back of Reggie Jackson, were able to draw within a single point of the Wizards and with 4:55 left on the clock Stanley Johnson sunk a pair of free throws to give the team the lead.

Unfortunately, the Pistons weren’t able to hold this lead and eventually fell short, with a pair of John Wall free throws sealing the game with1.3 seconds left.

The Pistons started the night hot, playing great team basketball in the first half and taking a well deserved seven-point lead into the locker room at halftime.

Much of this lead was thanks to the bench unit, who put up 30 of the Pistons 65 points and were instrumental in putting some breathing space between the two teams after much of the first quarter was spent swaying back and forth.

The standout was, surprisingly, rookie Luke Kennard, who in the first court time of his career had 11 points (5 of 6 shooting), 2 assists and 2 steals.

This stunning performance came after coach Stan Van Gundy decided to not play him at all in their season opener against the Charlotte Hornets.

Kennard’s single miss of the first-half came on an end of shot clock heave.

However, the second-half reminded everyone that Kennard was still a rookie.

He missed two wide-open three-point attempts and didn’t contribute at all to his stat sheet.

Jon Leuer (10 points, 4 of 6 shooting) and Ish Smith (12 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists) were also solid contributors off the bench.

The Pistons came out cold in the third-quarter, unable to find the bottom of the basket and being outrebounded by a Wizards team who had struggled emphatically on the glass in the first 24 minutes of play.

John Wall showed why he’s one of the league’s brightest talents, putting up 27 points and 10 assists despite being guarded by Avery Bradley.

Washington’s two other young stars, Bradley Beal and Otto Porter Jr. were also a handful.

Beal had a very solid night, dropping 24 points alongside 4 rebounds and 4 assists, however, it was Porter who stole the show.

The fifth-year player showed up big time for the Wizard’s, finishing with 28 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals and a block, all while shooting 57.9 percent from the field and 50 percent from three in a game-high 37 minutes.

Detroit had no answer for Porter, and ultimately, on an extremely close night, he proved to be the x-factor.

For the Pistons, Tobias Harris was quiet after a stellar performance against the Hornets, scoring 15 points and only shooting the ball nine times for the night.

Reggie Jackson was the team’s best performer, scoring 21 points, dishing out 5 assists and coming away with 4 steals.

He was instrumental in the team fighting its way back from 15 points down and showed the same kind of fourth quarter tenacity that we saw from the healthy Reggie Jackson two seasons ago.

The Pistons roll onto New York tomorrow night to face the New York Knicks to complete the second game of their road trip back-to-back.