It’s been nearly a year since the Washington Wizards played their greatest hit. But Saturday night at the Verizon Center, Gilbert Arenas was back in the lineup for the first time in nearly a year, making an otherwise inconsequential late-season game a Saturday Night Special.

Scoring 15 points and dealing 10 assists in 30 minutes, Arenas made a promising and energizing return from September knee surgery in a 98-96 loss to the Detroit Pistons.

“It was a great atmosphere,” said Arenas. “It feels fine right now. Usually there’s stiffness and pain is in there once the body settles.”

Arenas even got a chance to play his former role of buzzer-beating Hibachi, scrambling for a rebound of his own free throw miss and hoisting a desperation three as he was falling out of bounds and into the Detroit bench with three seconds left. After Pistons center Kwame Brown smothered the attempt, Wizards forward Caron Butler (11 points, 10 rebounds) retrieved the ball and put up a 15-footer from the baseline that missed badly as the buzzer sounded.

“Kwame did a great defensive job. I tried to use the ball to get some space. He was just there,” said Areans. “I’m gonna think about that the whole way (on road trip) to Indiana. I could have called timeout. I should have just drove the lane. Just had a mental block. I have no idea why I went for the three.”

Arenas showed little of the burst that made him a three-time All-Star, looking rusty on a stumbling hesitation move to the basket, and going down hard when he was fouled after making a crossover dribble. Arenas missed two off-balance layups in going 3-of-12 from the floor.

“I drove and missed some layups. I have to get to used to getting hit and being in the lane,” said Arenas. “I would have liked to have shot a better percentage. But it was rust, getting a feel for moving around the court again.”

On the positive side, Arenas demonstrated his creativity and playmaking ability, a skill the Wizards have lacked in his absence. Arenas’ best assist, a behind-the-back bounce pass in transition to Dominic McGuire, set up a dunk that put the Wizards ahead, 87-86, midway through the fourth quarter and brought the loudest roar of the night.

“When he’s out there, you run more,” said forward Antawn Jamison (21 points, 5 rebounds). “Thing with Gilbert, if you run, you may get an opportunity for easy buckets. With me, getting a lot of uncontested jump shots, it’s been a while. So I definitely welcome that.”

Arenas played the first 10 minutes, the entire third period, and the final 7:35. It is a pattern that will likely be repeated. Arenas griped this week that when he returned from knee surgery last year, the in-and-out substitution pattern had an adverse effect on his knee and his performance.

Areans said Saturday night, however, that he felt no pain on the two occasions he returned after sitting.

Detroit (35-37), fighting hard to hold on to the last playoff slot in the Eastern Conference, got 31 points from former Wizard Richard Hamilton, and 19 from Tayshaun Prince. Another former Wizard, Brown failed to score but contributed 11 rebounds and had a key steal with 64 seconds left.

If there was any doubt about the dependence the Wizards have on Arenas, he removed it in the first four minutes, assisting on Washington’s first four baskets, then scoring the fifth with his first shot of the 2008-09 season, a three-pointer from the top of the key.

“It’s funny. I got a text from Eddie Jordan,” said Arenas. “He said ‘Let the game come to you. Don’t expect to go out there and try to score 30.’”

Arenas’ early spurt gave Washington (17-57) a 13-4 lead, but Detroit answered by hitting nine straight shots, scoring on 11 consecutive possessions, to take a 31-26 lead early in the second period.

In the third quarter, the Pistons reeled off eight straight points to stretch their lead to 15. Hamilton hit a pair of three-pointers sandwiched around a breakaway layup by Prince that made it 80-65.

Threes were the difference as the Pistons hit 10 of 15 from the arc. Hamilton made 5 of 9, Price added 3 of 3, and reserve Walter Herrmann hit both of his attempts.

“We kept swinging the ball because the Wizards kept doubling Tayshaun,” said Detroit coach Michael Curry. “If you keep swinging the ball around the horn, it should eventually result in an open shot. We were disciplined enough to keep doing that throughout the course of the game.”

Washington got back into the game with a 15-2 run to start the final period. McGuire (9 points, 8 rebounds) had a three-point play and Nick Young (13 points) scored an accidental basket on an attempted alley-oop to rookie JaVale McGee (eight points). When Arenas hit two free throws and followed with his nifty pass to McGuire, Washington had its first lead since the opening period.

“I thought he did a terrific job of orchestrating the game,” said Wizards coach Ed Tapscott. “The beauty about his game is that he is an explosive scorer but he can distribute the ball just as well as anybody. He made the game a lot easier for the guys on the floor and a lot easier for the coaches.”

Washington’s fourth-quarter lead was short lived as Detroit forward Antonio McDyess (8 points, 11 rebounds) answered with back-to-back jumpers to give the Pistons the lead for good. In the final three minutes, Hamilton scored six points to keep Detroit in command.

Afterward, Arenas revealed that earlier in the day, he thought he wouldn’t play.

“You know that old expression, ‘You want it to rain, wash your car,’” said Arenas. “That’s what happened this morning. The knee’s been feeling good, fine the whole time. Soon as I get here (for morning shootaround), it starts aching. But once I got home, it felt better … Once I said I wasn’t playing, the knee feels better.”

That sentiment sums up the Wizards night. In a season full of pain and on a night when they lost again, everyone could at least feel better.

Notes » Wizards guard Mike James will miss the final three weeks of the season with a broken right hand suffered in practice Friday … Four of Arenas’ assists produced dunks. Three others led to layups… JaVale McGee went 3-for-3, all dunks, in 17 minutes … Reserve Javaris Crittenton contributed seven assists in 18 minutes.