WIZARDS GET THEIR FIRST HOME WIN OF THE SEASON AGAINST THE DETROIT PISTONS

By Raymond Lyons

The Wizards bounced back from a listless performance against the Timberwolves on Saturday night to record their first win of the season at Capital One Arena. They rebounded nicely in a 115-99 win against a Detroit team that came to town missing a few of their big guns.

Starting point guard, Reggie Jackson, was sidelined earlier in the week with a back injury and Derrick Rose has missed two games since being named his replacement. Blake Griffin and Tim Frazier were also missing in action. The Pistons fought as hard as they could but the odds were definitely stacked against them.

The Wizards took a two point lead into the locker room at halftime after leading by as much as 17 early. Detroit was able to close the gap at the end of the 2nd quarter thanks to to some sloppy play and careless turnovers from the Wizards that they were able to convert. Andre Drummond also started to get going, leading Detroit to a 24-9 run to end the half.

Washington came out in the second half with a more determined effort on the defensive end of the floor and was able to overwhelm the Pistons en route to the victory. Rui Hachimura bounced back from his first subpar performance of the young season finishing with 12 points, four rebounds and three assists. Troy Brown Jr. provided a defensive spark and Bradley Beal was his normal self logging 22 points, five rebounds and six assists. Veteran C.J. Miles was also a catalyst in the win. He had 12 points on 3-8 from the field for the night. Isaiah Thomas was also solid in his first start of the season.

While there where still some inconsistencies throughout the game, Washington was able to hold on for the win. Frankly, this was a game they needed to go in their favor. A loss here would have spelled doom for an already potentially dismal season. Here are our thoughts on tonight’s game.