A spirited preseason effort for the Detroit Pistons fell short in overtime.
The Pistons lost to the Washington Wizards on the road, 114-108, on Saturday, Oct. 10, to fall to 1-1 in preseason. Jalen Duren missed his second straight preseason game. Joining him on the bench in street clothes was Cade Cunningham, who also sat during the second half of Monday's win over the Phoenix Suns.
In a game in which the Pistons’ depth was challenged by foul trouble, coach J.B. Bickerstaff rode with his end-of-bench two-way players and Exhibit-10 signees – along with rookie Ebuka Okorie – for the majority of the fourth quarter. Okorie led the Pistons with 14 points and six assists, 10 points in the final two periods. Duncan Robinson (12 points, four assists),
Daniss Jenkins (12 points), Paul Reed (11 points, nine rebounds) and Kevin Huerter (11 points) also reached double figures. Tolu Smith added six points and 13 rebounds (eight offensive).
With 11.7 seconds left in regulation, two-way forward Isaac Jones received an entry pass from Okorie, hopped past Wizards sharpshooter Justin Champagnie and finished a dunk to tie the game at 98. On the other end, Motor City Cruise wing and Pistons camp invite John Okomadu forced Will Riley into a tough miss at the buzzer to force overtime.
Okorie and Chaz Lanier (nine points) combined for 10 points in overtime, but each player committed a turnover in the final 90 seconds, allowing the Wizards to pull away.
Lots of hard feelings
It was a feisty game, as seven technical fouls were called between the two teams. Paul Reed and Wizards guard Kyshawn George were whistled for techs after a battle for control of the ball became overly physical, Jenkins and Trae Young were each whistled for double techs and ejected during the third, and Ron Holland was whistled for the final tech of the night late in the third.
Jenkins, who started in place of Cunningham, began jawing back and forth with Young early in the third period. Both players exchanged light shoves while jogging down the floor, and Jenkins shoulder-bumped Young before Holland ran over to separate the two players. Jenkins and Young continued jawing after they both were initially assessed with techs, leading to the ejections.
The Pistons also struggled with foul trouble. Ausar Thompson picked up his sixth foul and exited the game late in the third period, and Reed – who started for Duren – fouled out with 11:44 remaining in the fourth.
Pistons overcome poor shooting with hustle, defense
A lethargic start for the Pistons led to a big deficit early in the game, trailing the Wizards 40-20 after the first quarter. They shot just 7-for-24 overall and 3-for-13 from 3, while allowing the Wizards to tally 19 fastbreak points.
In the second quarter, the effort battle shifted in the Pistons’ favor. They limited Washington to 4-for-12 shooting, forced eight turnovers and grabbed six offensive rebounds. It allowed the Pistons to take 29 shot attempts to the Wizards’ 12 and win the second quarter by a 30-to-16 margin.
By the end of the fourth quarter, the Pistons forced 27 Wizards turnovers, had a 23-7 lead on the offensive glass and a 17-8 lead in second chance points. It allowed them to stay competitive despite shooting 36.8% overall and 25% from 3 for the game.
Smith, Huerter step up
With Duren on the bench and Reed battling foul trouble through most of the second half before fouling out, the Pistons needed their third center to step up. Smith answered the call.
He is staking his case as the team’s best rebounder after Duren, and was pivotal on the offensive glass as the Pistons mounted their second-half comeback. Smith had 11 rebounds by the end of the third quarter and gave the Pistons their first lead of the second half with 10:39 remaining in the fourth, converting a layup following a steal by Javonte Green.
As for Huerter, an offseason spent tweaking his outside shot appeared to pay off. He knocked down three of his six attempts from deep, including a difficult stepback 3-pointer after relocating from the corner with 1:45 remaining in the third. In addition to his 11 points, Huerter also dished three assists.
Okorie shows offensive bag
After winning Monday's game with a tough paint finish on Monday, Okorie followed with a performance on Saturday that highlighted the many ways he can generate a paint touch and find the bottom of the rim. He checked in midway through the second quarter and scored two buckets by halftime – a push shot with Young attached to his hip, followed by a pull-up midrange jumper off of a screen.
He proceeded to play more than eight minutes in the fourth quarter and all five minutes of overtime. Okorie opened the extra period with a tough finish in traffic over Wizards guard Reece Beekman to give the Pistons the lead, 100-98, and drove and kicked out to Chaz Lanier for a 3-pointer that gave them the lead again, 103-101. With 41 seconds remaining, he scored the team's final bucket of the night to slice the deficit to two, 110-108.
With Cunningham on the bench, Okorie capitalized on his opportunity with the ball once again and finished the night as their leading scorer.
Cunningham, Duren miss game
Duren has yet to make his preseason debut after signing a five-year deal worth $200 million last Thursday, bringing a holdout that caused him to miss the first three days of training camp to an end. The Pistons intend for him to play in preseason, and his next opportunity will be their road game against the Minnesota Timberwolves next Wednesday.
“The plan is, for sure,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said on Wednesday. “It’s just one of those things that we’ll always be cautious of is how he’s feeling, and going from a summer workout to an NBA game regardless of if it’s a preseason game, you want to be aware of his body and the work that he’s putting in and making sure that we’re safe and that he’s feeling OK. The plan is definitely for him to play in preseason.”
Next up for the Pistons: Minny ha-ha?
The Pistons continue their four-game preseason slate with a visit to Minneapolis to face the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday, Oct. 14 (8 p.m., WMYD-TV). The T’wolves retooled themselves in the offseason on the court – they added LeMelo Ball, Jonathan Kuminga and held onto Ayo Dosunmu – and off the court, with an ownership shuffle (though proud Michigan dad Alex Rodriguez is still in the group).
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Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on X and/or Bluesky.
Next up: Timberwolves
Matchup: Pistons (1-0 entering Saturday’s late game) at Minnesota (1-1); exhibition.
Tipoff: 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14; Target Center, Minneapolis.
TV/radio: WMYD-TV (Ch. 20); WXYT-FM (97.1).
Streaming: DaZN Detroit.
Regular-season op
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Pistons work on depth in OT preseason road loss to Wizards
