Washington, D.C. — There’s has been no quit in the Pistons in the past couple of weeks.
Even when they’ve fallen into some deficits, they’ve managed to pull themselves out and make it a game in the final minutes of the game.
After winning three of the last four games — by a combined five points — they couldn’t hold on against the Washington Wizards. They rallied for 10 straight points to tie it, but they went cold late in a 116-113 loss on Tuesday night at Capital One Arena.
It was another solid showing for Jerami Grant and Saddiq Bey, who both are from the D.C. area. Grant finished with 26 points and four assists and Bey 19 points and seven rebounds. Cade Cunningham added 20 points, nine rebounds and five assists for the Pistons (15-47), who finish their three-game road trip at Toronto on Thursday.
“I like the way we’re connecting, the ball is moving around and we’re finding the right person,” coach Dwane Casey said. “Our one-on-one defense has to be better throughout the game.”
BOX SCORE: Wizards 116, Pistons 113
The Pistons trailed by six with just under two minutes remaining, but Bey hit a jumper, Stewart made one of two free throws and Cunningham scored on a spinning drive to get within 112-111 with 48.1 seconds left.
Kyle Kuzma (21 points, nine rebounds and six assists) made two free throws on the ensuing possession, and Stewart responded with a putback, to stay within one. The Wizards stayed hot from the free-throw line (21-of-26) with two more from Tomas Satoransky, to make it a three-point advantage.
The Pistons had two chances at potential tying 3-pointers on their final possession, but Bey and Hayes missed, and the Wizards held on.
It was another close game for the Pistons, who haven’t had a double-digit margin in their last six games.
“It shows our progression as a team,” Grant said. “Earlier in the season, we’d win a game and lose the next game by 20.”
The Pistons used an 11-2 run near the end of the third quarter, with six points from Grant, to take their largest lead, 85-78, with 2:22 left. The Wizards (28-33) answered with an 8-0 finish to the period, with a pair of 3-pointers from Rui Hachimura (11 points) and a dunk by Thomas Bryant (16 points).
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The run extended to 18 straight points, with a third 3-pointer by Hachimura and a three-point play by Bryant. Former Piston Ish Smith (11 points and eight assists) also had a pair of jumpers during the spurt.
“Just the start of the fourth quarter has been our bugaboo now,” Casey said.
The Wizards turned a six-point deficit into an 11-point lead with 9:16 remaining in the game. Killian Hayes ended the string with a drive and Isaiah Livers scored on a putback to get within eight.
Grant was scoreless in the first quarter, but he got going in the second period with 14 points, including a three-point play with 25.3 seconds left, helping the Pistons take a 64-63 lead at halftime after they trailed for most of the first half.
The Wizards responded in the third quarter with 3-pointers from Raul Neto and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, but Cunningham ended that streak with a coast-to-coast lay-in.
Corey Kispert hit a 3-pointer and Kuzma to make it an 11-2 run, but Cory Joseph hit a 3-pointer and Cunningham had a highlight-reel dunk and was fouled, completing the three-point play. Grant got going again with six points in the run near the end of the period, helping the Pistons to get back in it.
Rod.Beard@detroitnews.com
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