NBA: Porzingis leads Wizards to season sweep of Pistons
Kristaps Porzingis #6 of the Washington Wizards celebrates against the Los Angeles Lakers at Capital One Arena on March 19, 2022 in Washington, DC. Patrick Smith/Getty Images/AFP
Kristaps Porzingis had 30 points and 10 rebounds, and the visiting Washington Wizards completed a four-game season series sweep of the Detroit Pistons with a 100-97 win on Friday.
Deni Avdija supplied 21 points, 10 rebounds and four assists for the Wizards (31-42). Rui Hachimura added 11 points for Washington, which won for just the second time in 10 games and overcame a 54-32 disadvantage in points in the paint.
Kristaps Porzingis dropped a 30 ball for the @WashWizards including the game-winning jumper with just under 30 seconds remaining in regulation! #DCAboveAll@kporzee: 30 PTS, 10 REB, 2 STL, 2 BLK pic.twitter.com/e5xQxGry46
— NBA (@NBA) March 26, 2022
Marvin Bagley III topped the Pistons with 25 points, adding five rebounds. Cade Cunningham had 22 points, nine assists and seven rebounds while Isaiah Stewart added 12 points and eight rebounds. Killian Hayes chipped in 10 points, six rebounds and four assists for Detroit (20-54).
The Pistons’ leading scorer, Jerami Grant, suffered a calf strain in the first quarter and did not return.
Washington outscored Detroit 35-20 in the second quarter and led 60-44 at halftime.
Avdija led the way with 17 points, including three 3-pointers. Porzingis had 12 points by the break, while Bagley led the Pistons with 13 points. Detroit was held to 34.8 percent shooting.
The Pistons cut the deficit to 10 points in the first four minutes of the second half with Cunningham contributing four points and three assists during that span.
Washington was held to 19 points in the quarter but still led by nine, 79-70, entering the fourth.
Bagley’s putback three minutes into the quarter pulled Detroit within 81-76. Bagley spun into the lane and scored again to make it 86-85 with seven minutes left. Rodney McGruder tied it at 88-all with 5:33 left on a 3-pointer.
A Saddiq Bey 3-pointer gave Detroit a 91-90 lead. Bagley followed with a dunk but the Wizards responded with a 6-0 spurt capped by a Porzingis dunk.
Cunningham hit two pull-up jumpers but Porzingis answered with a mid-range shot to give Washington a 98-97 edge. Cunningham missed in the lane and Avdija hit two free throws. McGruder missed a 3-point shot on Detroit’s last possession.
