With more suffering than anticipated, the Wizards managed to win the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit by 116-119. Despite the fact that the Pistons had lost their last nine games, they were a more than worthy rival for the capital, who forced them to play an extension to be able to come out as winners. In fact, even the five minutes of overtime was agonizing, and only a final triple by Kyle Kuzma was able to break the equality.
Wes Unseld’s men had managed to face the shock after taking a 13-point lead in the fourth period (90-103), but an excellent finish by Michigan’s team allowed them to close the quarter with a 16-3 run. and, with two free throws by Jerami Grant with 2.3 seconds remaining, bringing the tie to the scoreboard. Bradley Beal tried to avoid overtime, but his shot over the horn slammed off the edge of the backboard and the game was headed for overtime.
In it, the equality remained, and a basket by Cade Cunningham with 23 seconds left to play again left everything level with a last possession for Washington. This time, however, the Wizards did know how to solve it, and after measuring the times very well and circulating the ball with precision, they managed to find Kyle Kuzma open in the corner for him to convert the triple of the victory with 0.6 seconds left. for the end. Frank Jackson looked for the equalizer on the horn, but his launch did not even get close to the basket and the capitalists took the victory while Kuzma waved goodbye to the local stands.
Thanks to his final basket, the former Lakers finished as the top scorer of his team with 26 points, one more than the 25 that Bradley Beal achieved. Additionally, four other players on the squad finished in double digits, namely Kentavious Caldwell-Pope with 13 points, Spencer Dinwiddie with 12, and Deni Avdija and Raul Neto with 10.
“It was a good victory for us,” said Beal after the crash. “It was not pretty, but we did what it took to win the game, and at the end of the day that is always the goal.”
On the local side, Jerami Grant was the most prominent with his 28 points, although the forward failed to appear in overtime, in which his team missed his contribution. It was Cunningham who put the team on his back at this point, scoring 8 of his 21 goals in overtime and coming close to achieving the feat almost alone. The rookie He continues to show signs of improvement and seems to have more and more continuity, as with this performance he has managed to exceed 20 points in three of his last four games.
(Cover photo: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)