DETROIT — Kyle Kuzma hit a 3 with 0.6 seconds left in overtime and the Washington Wizards handed the Detroit Pistons their 10th straight loss, 119-116 Wednesday night.
Kuzma scored 26 points and Bradley Beal added 25 for the Wizards, who blew a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter.
“This is a good win for us,” Beal said. “It wasn’t pretty, but we did what we needed to do to win the game. That’s always the goal.”
Jeremi Grant scored 28 points for the Pistons, who haven’t won since beating the Indiana Pacers 97-89 on Nov. 17. The 10-game skid matches Detroit’s longest since a 13-game slide from Nov. 15-Dec. 9, 2014. They also lost 10 straight from Feb. 24-March 14, 2015.
Rookie Cade Cunningham added 21 points, including eight of Detroit’s 10 points in overtime.
“In the NBA, you are going to get teams’ best defense at the end of games,” Pistons coach Dwane Casey said. “That means you have to have players who can create their own shots, and Cade and Jeremi are both able to do that for us.”
Washington led by 13 with 7:14 left, but Frank Jackson’s 3-pointer pulled the Pistons within 104-102 with 1:46 to play.
“They were playing with more desperation than we were,” Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. said. “We let our guard down in a situation where we need to be finding a way to put the game away.”
After both teams missed, Beal hit a floater with 31 seconds left to make it 106-102.
Isaiah Stewart scored to make it a two-point game, and Beal was called for a backcourt violation with 12.9 seconds left before Spencer Dinwiddie fouled Grant with 2.3 seconds remaining.
He hit both shots, and Beal’s jumper hit the side of the backboard as time expired.
“They made some tough shots, but we’ve got to stop turning over the ball,” Beal said. “That’s more on my (butt) than anyone else.”
Cunningham’s fourth layup of overtime made it 116-116 with 23 seconds left, but Kuzma hit the winner.
“I love Cade, but he makes me feel old,” Beal said. “I’ve been a fan of his since high school — I probably knew he was going to be a pro before he did. He’s going to be a problem for this league for a long time.”
Caldwell-Pope added 13 points for the Wizards, who outscored Detroit 52-38 in the paint and finished with a 13-7 edge on the offensive glass.
Daniel Gafford had seven points, nine rebounds and six blocks.
“They kicked our butts in the paint,” Casey said. “They broke our backs with the extra possessions and the points at the rim.”
The usually offensively challenged Pistons put up 60 points in the first half, good enough for an eight-point lead, but Caldwell-Pope scored 10 points in the first two minutes of the third quarter as the Wizards made it 62-62.
“We weren’t ready to play at the start of the second half,” Casey said. “That’s unacceptable.”
Grant kept the Pistons in the game with 12 points in the period, but Washington led 89-86 going into the fourth quarter.
For the second quarter in a row, the Wizards caught Detroit flat-footed, starting with an 8-2 run. Casey called timeout after Kuzma’s 3-pointer made it 97-88 with 9:34 to play.
“The Pistons aren’t a team that are going to give up,” Unseld said. “They are struggling, but they have kept fighting all year.”
TIP-INS
Wizards: Caldwell-Pope (2013) and Dinwiddie (2014) were drafted by the Pistons in back-to-back seasons and played two years together before Dinwiddie was traded to the Chicago Bulls.
Pistons: Cunningham picked up the first technical of his career for arguing a second-quarter call.
UP NEXT
Wizards: Host the Utah Jazz on Saturday.
Pistons: Visit the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday.
JAZZ 136, TIMBERWOLVES 104
MINNEAPOLIS — Donovan Mitchell scored 36 points and sharp-shooting Utah beat Minnesota for its fifth straight win.
Mitchell made 14 of 23 shots and Utah connected for 25 3-pointers, two shy of their season high set last Friday against Boston.
Bojan Bogdanovic had 21 points and five rebounds, and Jordan Clarkson scored 18 points — all from deep — off the bench for Utah.
Karl-Anthony Towns led Minnesota with 22 points, while Anthony Edwards scored 18. The Timberwolves have lost four straight.
HEAT 113, BUCKS 104
MIAMI — Caleb Martin scored a career-high 28 points and Miami beat Milwaukee.
Starting for the injured Jimmy Butler, Martin shot 9 of 12 from the field, including 6 for 8 on 3-pointers, as the Heat tied a franchise record with 22 3s against the defending NBA champions.
Kyle Lowry had 22 points and 13 assists and Max Strus scored all 16 of his points in the fourth quarter for Miami, which snapped a three-game home losing streak.
Jrue Holiday scored 27 points and Khris Middleton finished with 20 for the Bucks. Two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo had 15 points as Miami limited him to 4-of-13 shooting from the field.
The Heat took the lead for good with nine straight points in the final 55 seconds of the third.
ROCKETS 114, NETS 104
HOUSTON — Eric Gordon scored 21 points before being ejected in the fourth quarter and Garrison Mathews added 19 as Houston extended its winning streak to seven games with a victory over shorthanded Brooklyn.
The Rockets’ streak comes after they dropped their previous 15 games, and it’s the first time Houston has won seven straight since winning eight in a row in November 2019.
James Harden had 25 points for the Eastern Conference-leading Nets on a night when NBA leading scorer Kevin Durant and LaMarcus Aldridge both sat out for rest. It was Harden’s second visit to Houston since he was traded in January during his ninth season with the Rockets.
The Rockets led by 17 to start the fourth quarter and the Nets cut the deficit to four before Houston pulled away.
76ERS 110, HORNETS 106
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Joel Embiid had 32 points, Seth Curry added 23 points and eight assists, and Philadelphia beat Charlotte for the second time in three nights.
Tobias Harris added 18 points in a rematch of a game the 76ers won 127-124 in overtime Monday night on the same court.
Gordon Hayward had a season-high 31 points and seven assists for the Hornets, who played without five rotational players, including last year’s NBA Rookie of the Year LaMelo Ball due to NBA health and safety protocols.
Kelly Oubre Jr., who had 35 points in Charlotte’s loss Monday night, finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds but finished just 3 of 12 from beyond the arc and missed a free throw that would have made it a one-possession game with 7 seconds left.
PACERS 122, KNICKS 102
INDIANAPOLIS — Chris Duarte scored 23 points, Myles Turner had 22 and Indiana beat New York.
Duarte, a rookie shooting guard, eclipsed his 13.1-point scoring average with 14 in the first quarter, when the Pacers seized control with a 15-2 run. Indiana outscored New York in each of the first three quarters to lead 96-76 and mainatined a double-digit lead from midway through the second quarter until the final buzzer.
Each of the Pacers starters scored in double figures, with Malcolm Brogdon getting 16 points and Caris LeVert 15. Duarte and LeVert each had six assists. Domantas Sabonis had 21 points and 11 rebounds.
RJ Barrett led the Knicks with 19 points. Julius Randle had 18 points and eight rebounds.
THUNDER 110, RAPTORS 109
TORONTO — Mike Muscala made a go-ahead 3-pointer with nine seconds remaining, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 16 of his 26 points in the third quarter, and Oklahoma City held on late to win its second straight game, rallying from a 13-point deficit to beat injury-depleted Toronto.
Toronto’s Justin Champagnie thought he had tipped in Fred VanVleet’s missed shot at the buzzer to give the Raptors the win but, after a wild celebration at center court, the referees ruled Champagnie’s shot had come too late.
The Thunder, who won Monday at Detroit to snap an eight-game losing streak, overcame a double-digit deficit for the second game in a row. Oklahoma City fought back from 18 down to beat the Pistons.
Luguentz Dort scored 22 points for Oklahoma City.
Gary Trent Jr. scored 24 points, Pascal Siakam had 23 and VanVleet scored 14 of his 19 in the fourth quarter as the Raptors lost for the first time in three games. Toronto is 4-9 at home.
CAVALIERS 115, BULLS 92
CLEVELAND — Darius Garland scored 24 points and rookie power forward Evan Mobley had 16 points and nine rebounds to send Cleveland past Chicago.
Garland also had six assists as the Cavaliers won for the fifth time in seven games, earning their most lopsided home victory of the season. Mobley, the third overall draft pick, shot 8 of 11 from the field and had a season-high five blocked shots and two steals.
Zach LaVine scored 23 points with nine assists for Chicago, which had its four-game win streak snapped. Lonzo Ball added 19 points and Nikola Vucevic had 18 points and 12 rebounds, but shot 8 for 23 from the field.
The Bulls played their second game since leading scorer DeMar DeRozan was placed in the NBA’s health and safety protocol for COVID-19. Chicago guards Coby White, Matt Thomas and Javonte Green are sidelined for the same reason.
MAVERICKS 104, GRIZZLIES 96
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Luka Doncic scored 26 points, Kristaps Porzingis added 19 and Dallas used a fourth-quarter rally to end a three-game skid.
Reggie Bullock added 15 for the Mavericks, who surpassed 100 points for only the second time in the past six games.
Jaren Jackson Jr. led Memphis with 26 points, while Dillon Brooks added 15 points before being ejected late in the fourth quarter. Desmond Bane finished with 14 points.
NUGGETS 120, PELICANS 114, OT
NEW ORLEANS — Nikola Jokic scored 11 of his season-high 39 points in overtime to go with his 11 assists and 11 rebounds, and Denver outlasted mistake-prone New Orleans.
Jokic had five points in the final 1:29 of regulation to help the Nuggets erase a five-point deficit.
Jonas Valanciunas had 27 points and 11 rebounds for New Orleans, but the Pelicans committed 25 turnovers that led to 31 Nuggets points.
Valanciunas’ tip-in tied it at 105 with 5.2 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Will Barton scored 20 points for Denver, which bounced back from a loss at Chicago two nights earlier.
WARRIORS 104, TRAIL BLAZERS 94
SAN FRANCISCO — Stephen Curry scored 22 points and moved within nine 3-pointers of Ray Allen’s career record as Golden State held off depleted Portland.
The reigning NBA scoring champion shot 6 of 17 from beyond the arc, missing his initial four 3-point tries before connecting at the 5:55 mark of the first quarter.
Norman Powell scored 26 points but went 1 of 7 from deep, and the Blazers were just 8 for 30 from long range. Star guards Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum sat out because of injuries.
Curry is closing in on Allen’s mark of 2,973 regular-season 3s made from 1996-2014.
KINGS 142, MAGIC 130
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — De’Aaron Fox scored 33 points, Tyrese Haliburton had a big fourth quarter and Sacramento won its season-best third straight game by beating Orlando.
Fox shot 12 of 18 and made a pair of 3-pointers to help the Kings set a season high for scoring.
Haliburton added 18 points and matched his career high with 11 assists for his third NBA double-double and second this season. The Kings are 5-3 since interim coach Alvin Gentry replaced Luke Walton.
Cole Anthony had 33 points and eight assists for the Magic (5-21), who have lost three straight and 10 of 11.