Pistons 96, Wizards 85
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Will Bynum had 20 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, as the Detroit Pistons snapped the Washington Wizards' four-game winning streak with a 96-85 victory at The Palace on Wednesday.
Bynum also dished out five of his team-high eight assists in the fourth, when the Pistons outscored the Wizards, 31-17. Jose Calderon supplied 24 points and Greg Monroe recorded his eighth consecutive double-double with 16 points and 18 rebounds for the Pistons (21-33), who have won three of their last four.
Detroit clinched the season series with its third win over Washington this season.
Emeka Okafor led the Wizards (15-36) with 20 points and nine rebounds and John Wall chipped in 16 points and nine assists.
Wall gave the Wizards their biggest lead, 63-55, on a 17-foot jumper with 5:43 remaining in the third period. But the Pistons responded with a 10-3 spurt, capped by a Calderon 3-pointer. Wall made a layup in the final minute to give the Wizards a 68-65 edge entering the fourth.
Charlie Villanueva's four-point play with 7:51 left handed Detroit a 71-70 lead. Villanueva made a 3-pointer from the right wing while getting fouled by Chris Singleton.
Bynum stretched the advantage with a floater and a lob pass to rookie center Slava Kravtsov to make it 76-70 with 6:28 left. Nene ended Detroit's 11-0 outburst with a short hook. A pair of Trevor Ariza layups tied the game.
But Bynum answered with two free throws, a mid-range shot and a layup for an 82-76 Detroit lead. Bynum's skip pass to Calderon for a 3-pointer pushed the advantage to nine and the Wizards couldn't mount a comeback from that point.
Okafor had 12 points by halftime, lifting the Wizards to a 45-44 advantage. Monroe carried the Pistons, racking up 13 points and 11 rebounds.
The first half was close throughout, as neither club led by more than four points and the lead changed hands 12 times.
NOTES: The Pistons won 15 of the last 19 meetings. ... Monroe extended his streak of double-doubles to eight games. The last Piston to have a longer double-double streak was Grant Hill, who recorded 10 straight in March 1996. ... Guard Brandon Knight is the only Piston participating in All-Star Weekend. He will be in the Rising Stars Challenge, along with Washington rookie Bradley Beal, as well as in the Skills Competition. Detroit rookie center Andre Drummond was invited to the Rising Stars game but is out with a back injury. ... The Wizards held their previous nine opponents under 100 points. The last time they had a longer stretch of holding opponents under 100 was a 10-game streak in December 2001. ... Nene was averaging 15.7 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists in his last six games. ... Washington is now 10-8 since John Wall returned from a knee injury. ... The Wizards have used 16 different lineups. ... Eleven players have led the Pistons in scoring this season. ... Heading into Wednesday's game, Washington ranks last in scoring (91.4 points per game) and second-to-last, ahead of only Charlotte, in field-goal shooting (42.7 percent).
