WASHINGTON — 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 — each by one point — 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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
