DETROIT – Detroit threw a party for 313 day, but the Washington Wizards played spoiler.
The Wizards hit 20 3-pointers as they sent the Pistons to a 129-125 loss on Thursday night at Little Caesars Arena.
The loss to a last-place team at home marked a rare low point in this Pistons run to the playoffs over the last two months. Detroit is now 37-30 and remains in sixth place in the Eastern Conference standings.
After the Pistons led by four early in the fourth quarter, Washington hung around and took a one-point lead on a 3-pointer with 1:17 left. The Wizards answered a Jalen Duren putback with a dunk of their own, and after a Cunningham turnover were able to sink two free throws to go ahead by three.
Tim Hardaway Jr. missed a shot with 10 seconds left that would have sent the game to overtime.
Cunningham recorded 38 points and 10 assists, hitting a career-high 20 free throws on 21 attempts. Duren added 18 points and 14 rebounds.
Unlike Tuesday’s nearly wire-to-wire win over the Wizards, the Pistons struggled in the first half on Thursday and didn’t show their typical level of defense and rebounding. The Wizards shot 50 percent from the floor and 45 percent from 3-point range while outrebounding the Pistons by 10.
After that slow start, the Pistons finished the third quarter on a 14-2 run to take their first lead of the second half. Shortly after recording a flagrant foul that gave Washington a four-point possession, Cade Cunningham had eight points, two blocks, and assist and a steal to key what would become the critical run of the game for the Pistons.
After Cunningham tied the game on a free throw with 1:02 left, Simone Fontecchio took a no-look pass from Dennis Schroder to hit a go-ahead corner 3-pointer that sent the Little Caesars Arena crowd into a frenzy.
That led to a seven-point Washington halftime lead that quickly ballooned to 13 after back-to-back 3-pointers to open the second half before the Pistons started their comeback.
After back-to-back games against the last-place Wizards, the Pistons will now face the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday at home.