The Sports Xchange
Dec 1, 2017
WASHINGTON -- The Washington Wizards outscored the Detroit Pistons 35-15 in the third quarter and evened their record on the season without All-Star John Wall with a 109-91 win on Friday night.
Markieff Morris scored a season-high 23 points and Otto Porter had 17 for the Wizards (12-10), who had lost five of seven games. That includes two of the last three without Wall. The point guard was shut down on Nov. 25 after receiving injections in his left knee to help relieve inflammation.
Trailing 52-46 at halftime, the Wizards opened the third quarter with a 17-0 run and held the Pistons without a field goal until 5:40 remained in the period.
Tobias Harris scored 15 points for the Pistons (14-7). Detroit had won three in a row.
Andre Drummond had 14 points and 17 rebounds, but Washington dominated the glass 49-32.
Tomas Satoransky, who entered the rotation with Wall sidelined, had a career-high 17 points with four assists off the bench. The reserve point guard has 22 assists and zero turnovers over the last four games.
Second in the Eastern Conference, the Pistons seemingly were in position for a fourth consecutive win after a strong first half. Instead they fell to 0-2 against the Wizards this season. Avery Bradley had 13 points and Reggie Jackson scored 12.
The second unit forged a 38-31 lead for the Wizards when coach Scott Brooks began reinserting the starters and went with a point guard-less lineup. Detroit immediately responded with a 17-2 run and entered halftime up six.
Morris has been slow to recover from hernia surgery in late September, but a recent downturn stood out. He had nine points combined in the previous two games and didn't play in the fourth quarter in either contest.
Brooks revealed pre-game that he had a 1-on-1 film session with Morris earlier in the day in an attempt to get the starting power forward going. The talk worked. Morris had a quick seven points and then scored another seven in the third quarter and finished 10-of-16 from the field.
Marcin Gortat had 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Wizards.
NOTES: Wizards G John Wall made his first public comments since being shut down for treatment on his left knee on Nov. 25. The organization projected a two-week timeframe. "I kind of really don't know yet," Wall said about his return, according to NBCwashington.com. "I'm just taking it day-by-day and listening to what the doctors are saying. I'm getting another checkup [Friday] with the doctors, so I'll see where I stand." ... Washington opens a five-game road trip Monday at the Utah Jazz. ... The Pistons remain on the road for Saturday's matchup at the Philadelphia 76ers. Detroit is 3-1 on the second night of back-to-backs this season after finishing 3-14 last season. ... Washington announced that the name of its G-League team, which will begin play in the 2018-19 season, will be Capital City Go-Go's.