It’s been a recurring theme for the Wizards — inconsistent play from their bench. Wednesday night, against one of the hottest and deepest teams in the league, the Wizards couldn’t survive a particularly listless performance from their bench.
With forwards Jason Maxiell and Jarvis Hayes providing an injection of offense off the bench, Detroit rolled to its 10th straight win, 106-93, before 15,763 at the Verizon Center.
Led by the 6-7 Maxiell (15 points, 7 rebounds) and 6-8 Hayes (12 points), the Detroit bench out-scored Washington 33-8. The difference was apparent in the second period when Detroit transformed a 1-point deficit into a 10-point lead. In the second half, Washington never made a serious run.
“Your bench needs to come in and give you a shot in the arm,” said Wizards coach Eddie Jordan. “They have to come in and up the ante a little bit. We just didn’t have that.”
While Maxiell and Hayes hit 9 of 13 shots from the floor, the Wizards’ reserves combined to hit just 1 of 10 shots. Maxiell had a game-high 5 offensive rebounds. Hayes, a former Wizard who was signed by Detroit in the off-season, hit three 3-pointers in the final 10 minutes.
Washington (15-15) got strong work from usual suspects Caron Butler (22 points, 6 assists) and Antawn Jamison (21 points, 9 rebounds). After nearly three weeks on the sidelines, point guard Antonio Daniels (18 points) picked up where he left off when he suffered a strained MCL.
But the Wizards starters didn’t get as much help as the Pistons. All five starters for Detroit (25-7) scored in double figures led by Richard Hamilton (20 points), Rasheed Wallace (16 points) and Chauncey Billups (16 points).
“We didn’t respond the right way, behavior-wise, attitude-wise. I was disappointed in that,” said Jordan. “That’s big in sports. We didn’t pass the test.”
Wizards Notes
» Wizards center Brendan Haywood (15 points, 10 rebounds) notched his 12th double-double.
» Redskins running back Clinton Portis, seated at mid-court in the front row, drew one of the biggest cheers of the night when he was shown on the big screen.
