For the second game, and only second time this season, the Washington Wizards took the floor without their best player John Wall (sore knee). Needing to win their final four games and having Detroit lose their final three, the Wizards got an opportunity for a two for one by traveling to The Palace in a Friday night matchup with the Pistons. In typical Washington fashion, the road team dug themselves a big hole before getting bailed out by an unlikely source in the third quarter. But in the end it was all about not playing defense against Reggie Jackson who dropped 39 in Auburn Hills. Washington’s season essentially ended today by being eliminated from playoff contention with a 112-99 loss to Detroit.
If Washington was going to have any shot of miraculous squeaking into the playoffs, they would need another efficient performance from Bradley Beal who scored 25 points on 15 shot attempts against Brooklyn. Things looked good for the Panda early on when he scored seven straight Wizards points, but then things dropped off for the road team. Following a Stan Van Gundy timeout, Detroit went on a 13-2 run behind 7 of 9 shooting from beyond the arc in the first quarter. Reggie Jackson and Tobias Harris combined for 27 points and Washington trailed 39-25 after twelve minutes.