The Washington Wizards had enough fight to drag this one into double overtime, but not enough to survive Cade Cunningham’s night.
Detroit walked out of D.C. with a 144-140 win after 58 minutes, and Cunningham was the reason the Pistons kept finding answers. He piled up a career-high 52 points and repeatedly powered Detroit through the stretches when Washington looked ready to steal the game. The Wizards, meanwhile, dropped their sixth straight and fell to 4-9.
Trae Young gave Washington the kind of ending it was desperate for, even if the box score will never fully capture the moment. He drilled a double-pump buzzer-beater to force overtime, the sort of shot that instantly becomes the clip everyone sees first. It was his fourth such shot over nine seasons as a franchise scorer, and it gave the Wizards their first real jolt of the night.
After the game, Young made it clear who the team wanted with the ball when everything was on the line.
"Everyone in the huddle wanted me to get the ball," he told On SI after the game. "It was our first time being in this situation this year, we’re learning, good thing we were able to play a couple overtimes and play in those type of situations."
The shot was a bright spot in an otherwise uneven outing for Young, who finished 8/23 from the floor. Still, it was the kind of late-game moment Washington had been waiting to see from him, and it came with the game hanging in the balance.
AJ Dybantsa added his own late-game punch, knocking down a game-tying shot to push the contest into double overtime. He was far less efficient than Young overall, going 1/9 from the field outside that key pull-up, but he still gave Washington useful minutes in the extra sessions.
Alex Sarr had one of the night’s biggest individual performances for the Wizards, and it came in a game where he has had to keep working through a tough early-season setup. Washington’s starting double-big look has made life harder on the floor spacing, and Sarr has been stuck in a minimized role at times while dealing with the aftermath of breaking his foot over the summer.
That made his 12/14 shooting night stand out even more. He scored 30 points, hit four threes off kick-outs, and turned in one of the few truly efficient offensive performances Washington got all evening. It was also a reminder that, even when he’s not the focal point of the offense, he can still do damage when he plays with aggression.
Sarr said after the game that he’s still operating in that reduced role, but he’s showing he can create for himself whether Young or Kyshawn George is running the offense.
Detroit also got another big night from Daniss Jenkins. Wizards fans had already seen him before, when he scored a then-career-high 24 points in a win over Washington last year. He matched that total again three days before the Wizards returned home, then added 21 more in the double-overtime victory.
But this one belonged to Cunningham. He kept Detroit attached when Washington’s offense was rolling, attacked the rim, and knocked down shots from beyond the arc despite his usual struggles from deep. Even with Young flirting with 40 points, the star-point-guard battle tilted clearly in Cunningham’s favor, and the Pistons had the better closer.
In Other News...
Wizards Fans Had To Love AJ Dybantsas Response To Scary Hit
AJ Dybantsa gave Wizards fans a little bit of everything in a bruising matchup with Detroit, starting with a scary collision with Cade Cunningham that left him visibly bleeding from the mouth. The moment could have easily taken him out of the game, but instead he stayed on the floor and kept competing, the kind of response that tends to resonate in Washington even in a loss.
Dybantsa finished with five points, eight rebounds and four assists as the Wizards pushed the Pistons deep into extra time before Detroit finally pulled away. Cunninghams huge night powered the Pistons, but Washington had to appreciate the way Dybantsa handled the hit and kept playing through it, a tough-minded sequence that fit the tone of a game that never really let up. [Read more 🡒]
Wizards Loss Put Alex Sarrs Role Into Sharper Focus
Alex Sarr gave the Wizards a rare bright spot in a loss to Detroit, turning in one of the more encouraging individual performances of Washingtons season. The rookies scoring burst and work on the glass stood out even as the team kept stumbling, and it added another data point to the idea that his development can still be a meaningful part of the franchises long-term picture.
What made the night more interesting was not just the production, but what it said about how Washington is using him. Sarr has been on the floor plenty, yet his place in the offense has not always matched the value he can bring when he is involved early and often. For a team still searching for traction, giving him a bigger say in how possessions unfold could help answer more than one question at once. [Read more 🡒]
Wizards May Be Reaching A Breaking Point With Deandre Ayton
The Wizards six-game slide has pushed the front office and coaching staff into a difficult spot, and Deandre Ayton is suddenly at the center of it. His role has been shrinking as his production has dipped, and the teams numbers with him on the floor have not helped his case. For a club trying to steady itself after a rough stretch, every rotation decision now feels like a referendum on what still works and what does not.
Brian Keefe has already trimmed Aytons minutes, and the next step could be even more significant if Washington decides it needs a different look in the middle. The Wizards are trying to squeeze more value out of their center minutes as they search for answers, and Aytons place in that equation is far from settled. What happens next will say a lot about how quickly this team is willing to pivot while the losses keep piling up. [Read more 🡒]