| The Detroit News
The Pistons picked up where they let off in Sunday’s first preseason win.
They got another strong game from their bench and used a hot first quarter from their starters to push out to a 20-point lead in the first quarter. They held on the rest of the way and rolled to a 97-86 victory over the Washington Wizards on Thursday night at Capital One Arena.
Josh Jackson had 17 points and seven rebounds, Jerami Grant had 15 points and Delon Wright scored 13 for the Pistons (2-1 preseason). They finish the preseason on Saturday night in a rematch against the Wizards.
The Pistons jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the first two minutes after a drive by Wright, a 3-pointer by Grant and a pair of free throws by Killian Hayes (nine points) and never trailed. Hayes hit back-to-back 3-pointers and added another lay-in, for an 18-7 lead midway through the first quarter.
Mason Plumlee had a productive first quarter and finished the game with eight points, six rebounds and four assists, showing his all-around versatility.
“I liked a lot of what I saw tonight but there’s a lot we have to draw from and learn from,” coach Dwane Casey said. “Our defense is ahead of our offense and that’s where we want it to be.”
Casey said that with so little time to work on pieces of the offense and to install all of the plays, there’s been some lag in the timing on passes, which has led to some turnovers and sloppy play.
That showed throughout the game, but the Pistons were sharp, shooting above 50% from the field in the first half — without Blake Griffin attempting a field goal. With so many others contributing, the offense was fine without him, but the Pistons’ defense helped set the tone early.
The Pistons led, 33-23, after the first quarter and 58-35 at halftime, but the Wizards surged in the third quarter and cut it to 78-60 entering the fourth and made a run, but the Pistons were comfortably ahead.
Derrick Rose added 10 points, six rebounds and six assists and Sekou Doumbouya had eight points in the first 10 half.
Rod.Beard@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @detnewsRodBeard