Pistons take over early, hold on to beat Wizards

Cade Cunningham had 33 points and seven assists to lead the Detroit Pistons to a 96-87 road win over the Washington Wizards on Friday in a game between teams with the two worst records in the NBA.

Jalen Duren had 20 points and 17 rebounds for the Pistons (13-61), who snapped an eight-game losing streak.

The Pistons shot just 6 of 24 from 3-point range but made 31 of their 65 field goals inside the arc and hit 16 of 20 from the free-throw line.

Corey Kispert scored 23 points, Deni Avdija had 18 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists, and Marvin Bagley III had 15 points and 11 rebounds in defeat for Washington (14-60), which has lost two straight following a three-game winning streak.

The Wizards shot 9 of 33 from 3-point range and attempted just eight free throws, making six of them.

Washington trailed by 19 points at halftime but rallied to take an 81-80 lead with 10:03 remaining in the game.

Detroit answered, taking an 89-83 lead with 4:48 remaining after a three-point play by Cunningham.

The Pistons then all but wrapped up the game with 24.1 seconds remaining when Evan Fournier drained a 3-pointer from the wing to give Detroit a 96-87 lead.

Washington trailed 59-40 at halftime but came out strong in the third quarter to cut Detroit's lead to 69-62 with 5:37 remaining in the third.

The Wizards eventually cut Detroit's lead to 80-75 going into the fourth quarter after a 3-pointer with 0.1 seconds left in third by Avdija.

Leading 23-20 after the first quarter, Detroit took control in the second quarter, outscoring Washington 36-20 in the quarter to take the 19-point lead at halftime.

The Pistons went 19 of 31 on two-point shot attempts and shot 15 of 19 from the free-throw line in the first half in building their lead. Washington only attempted four free throws in the first half.

—Field Level Media