Team has first 3-game win streak since ’08
John Wall and JaVale McGee traded the role of facilitator as the Wizards traded leads all night in a back-and-forth clash with Detroit, and Washington secured its first three-game winning streak in three years with a 107-105 win over the Pistons.
With 41.9 seconds remaining, Wall (26 points, 12 assists) split the seam to find a wide-open McGee (eight points, eight rebounds, three blocks) at the rim for a two-handed slam to tie the score 102-102. After Tayshaun Prince (14 points) missed a 3-pointer at the other end, McGee returned the favor, sending a long outlet pass to the rookie point guard for a fast break jam to put the Wizards on top for good with 14.8 seconds remaining.
Austin Daye’s 3-pointer rimmed in and out at the buzzer, sending the crowd of 18,131 at Verizon Center into a massive exhale.
“We got a swagger now,” Wizards guard Jordan Crawford said. “When you go into games thinking you can win it, you can win them. When you go into thinking that you can’t, it’s not going to be a good outcome. You can see it. You can see how people walk around here now, people hold their heads up a little more and it’s a little more excitement in the locker room and practice. Every thing is different.”
Andray Blatche had 26 points and 10 rebounds, and Maurice Evans added 20 points for the Wizards (21-56), who finally succeeded in their 12th attempt at three wins in a row since April 2008.
“Aw man, that seems like a long time ago, but it’s not,” said Wall, reminded he was a junior in high school the last time the Wizards had won that many games in a row. “I didn’t know that. Coach was talking about it, getting a winning streak we haven’t had all year. We just wanted to give the fans and people that’s watching, that we’re getting better.”
Former Georgetown center Greg Monroe led the Pistons (26-51) with 22 points and 14 rebounds but missed a pair of game-tying free throws with 10.2 seconds remaining.
Evans scored 10 points in the first quarter, giving the Wizards a 29-16 lead on a fast break dunk that gave Wall his fourth assist of the period. But the biggest lead for either team didn’t last long, and by the time Tracy McGrady (12 points) spun past Wall and dropped in a baseline reverse slam midway through the second quarter, the lead had evaporated completely and the game was tied 41-41.
Evans struck again to open the third quarter, scoring twice during a 6-0 run that put Washington back in front after trailing 54-52 at the half. But in a game where moments of quality alternated with moments of the absurd, neither team could get away cleanly, and the Pistons clung to a 81-78 lead at the end of the period after Tayshaun Prince’s baseline jump shot rolled around the rim five times and dropped through at the buzzer.
