NBA: Wizards hold on for win over Pistons
Kyle Kuzma #33 of the Washington Wizards shoots the ball over Isaiah Stewart #28 of the Detroit Pistons during the second half at Capital One Arena on March 1, 2022 in Washington, DC. Scott Taetsch/Getty Images/AFP
Kyle Kuzma collected 21 points and nine rebounds to fuel the host Washington Wizards to a 116-113 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday.
Thomas Bryant had 16 points off the bench and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 15 for the Wizards, who had eight players score in double figures.
Raul Neto had 13 points and Daniel Gafford added 12 for Washington, which shot 50 percent from both the floor (41 of 82) and 3-point range (13 of 26) en route to snapping a modest two-game losing skid.
Shammgod ➡ Crossover ➡ 😤
Ish Smith knocks it down!
Watch the @WashWizards live on NBA League Pass: https://t.co/oz9UCQxdQa pic.twitter.com/s2HFmPnm2i
— NBA (@NBA) March 2, 2022
Washington has won the first three meetings in the season series. The teams play the finale of the set in Detroit on March 25.
Jerami Grant led Detroit with 26 points, highlighted by a 3-for-5 performance from 3-point range. Rookie Cade Cunningham contributed 20 points and nine rebounds and Saddiq Bey added 19 and seven, respectively, as the Pistons fell to 1-1 on their three-game road trip.
Detroit scored 10 straight points to pull even at 104-104 with 3:37 to play in the fourth quarter before Washington kicked it into another gear.
Kuzma made a pair of free throws, Caldwell-Pope added a driving layup and Bryant sank an alley-oop to give the Wizards a 110-104 lead with 2:45 to go.
The Pistons trimmed the deficit to one on two occasions in the final minute, only to have Washington convert its free-throw attempts.
Tomas Satoransky’s foul shots gave the Wizards a 116-113 lead with 15.6 seconds to play. Detroit was unable to respond, as Bey misfired on a 22-foot bid and Killian Hayes’ 3-point attempt in the final second was off the mark.
Satoransky scored four points off the bench in 14 minutes of play. The 30-year-old veteran, who played three seasons with the Wizards to begin his NBA career, was signed on Monday after being released two days earlier by the San Antonio Spurs.
Detroit recovered from a sluggish start to the third quarter by scoring 19 of 24 points to secure an 85-79 lead. Washington responded by scoring 18 unanswered points, a surge highlighted by a trio of 3-pointers by Rui Hachimura.
