NBA: Wizards improve to 3-1 with dominant win over Pistons
FILE – Kyle Kuzma #33 of the Washington Wizards celebrates after a play against the Chicago Bulls during the second half at Capital One Arena on October 21, 2022 in Washington, DC. Scott Taetsch/Getty Images/AFP
Kyle Kuzma scored 25 points and Kristaps Porzingis added 20 as the Washington Wizards continued their recent dominance over the visiting Detroit Pistons with a 119-98 victory on Tuesday.
Will Barton had 16 points, Bradley Beal added 13 and Rui Hachimura chipped in 10 for Washington, which recorded its sixth straight win over the Pistons.
The Wizards led by as many as 17 in the third quarter and maintained a double-digit lead for most of the final period.
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 25 points to lead Detroit, which has lost three straight following a season-opening win over the Orlando Magic.
Cade Cunningham added 19 points, Isaiah Stewart had 13 points and 10 rebounds, and rookie Jaden Ivey contributed 11 points. The Pistons were outscored 34-23 in the final period.
Washington ended the first quarter on a 10-2 run to move ahead 28-25. Porzingis scored 10 points in the quarter to lead all scorers.
Beal exited late in the first quarter due to back tightness but returned to action with three minutes left in the third period.
.@RealDealBeal23 behind-the-back. @kylekuzma bucket. pic.twitter.com/Vb5hyn1SIw
— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) October 26, 2022
Washington remained in control in the second quarter and took a 56-49 lead into the break despite shooting 5 of 17 (29.4 percent) from 3-point range.
Porzingis scored five straight points to put the Wizards ahead 69-54 with 8:37 left in the third quarter. The 7-foot-3 center made two 3-pointers and is 6 of 12 from beyond the arc in his past two games.
Washington stretched its lead to 17 on Monte Morris’ trey with 6:36 left in the third quarter, but the Pistons closed to within 85-75 after Isaiah Livers converted three foul shots to end the period.
Beal hit a 26-foot jumper to push the Wizards’ lead to 103-88 with 6:42 remaining, and the Pistons struggled to keep pace down the stretch.
Washington received a complete team effort to improve to 3-1 on the young season. Deni Avdija had nine points and seven rebounds, while Morris finished with nine points, six rebounds and six assists.
Daniel Gafford chipped in nine points for Washington, which shot 51.8 percent from the field. Detroit hit 40.9 percent of its field-goal attempts.
The Wizards have won 15 consecutive games at home vs. the Pistons, dating back to Jan. 18, 2014.
