AUBURN HILLS, MICH. — The Washington Wizards got pretty much the same welcome every visitor has received in the past two months at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
An unpleasant one.
In the second half, the Detroit Pistons became most ungracious hosts, using a large run to hand the Wizards a 101-79 loss. It was Detroit’s 12th consecutive home victory and 16th in its last 18 games overall.
With 22,076 on hand for their final home game of the season, the Pistons — playing without injured starters Rasheed Wallace and Chauncey Billups — bridged the third and fourth quarters with a 22-2 run, turning what had been a tight game for most of the night into a laugher.
“That’s what they do,” Wizards coach Eddie Jordan said. “They are probably the best defensive team in the league. We were playing very well. We played a terrific ball game for about 42 minutes. Then there was a period of about six minutes where we didn’t believe and we didn’t trust what we did before that.”
Actually, it wasn’t even that long.
The run began with reserve Mike James’ 3-pointer at 2:48 of the third quarter that put the Pistons ahead for good at 61-60. James, who finished with 21 points, mercifully ended it with one of his five 3s with 10:27 left in the fourth quarter.
The Pistons (54-27), led by former Wizard Richard Hamilton’s second career double-double (24 points, 12 assists), scored in a blaze of fast-break dunks and long-range jumpers. Seven of their eight 3-pointers came in the second half, helping the Pistons overcome a sloppy first half in which they turned the ball over 16 times and trailed by four points at the break.
The Wizards, who played without forwards Kwame Brown (sore left foot) and Jerry Stackhouse (sore right ankle), fell to 25-56 and will play host to New Orleans tomorrow in the final game of the season. The loss ensured the Wizards of the worst road record (8-33) in the league this year.
“The game got out of hand once they started hitting those 3s,” said Washington’s Larry Hughes, who finished with 19 points. “They don’t shoot a lot of 3s. But when they hit them like that I guess you have to take it.”
The Wizards committed 15 turnovers and scored only 32 points in the second half when the Pistons revved up their defense.
Gilbert Arenas, who was benched at the start of both halves for having missed the team plane Sunday night, led the Wizards with 20 points. Arenas said he called before the flight and notified the team he had a “stomach flu.” He caught a commercial flight later in the day.
There was no word last night whether the team would fine him.
Washington, a loser of 10 of its last 13 games, has dropped six straight to the Pistons, who last lost at the Palace on Feb.22.
“It was a great win,” Detroit coach Larry Brown said. “We got 54 [wins], and we didn’t have to play Chauncey, and I didn’t have to play Rasheed. It was a good way to finish the homestand.”
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