Wizards dazzle Pistons behind Jamison’s season high

Gilbert Arenas had 25 points, 10 assists and six boards while Brendan Haywood added 10 points and nine rebounds for the Wizards, who have won five of their last six games.

"It wasn’t pretty but we pulled it out," said Arenas. "That’s a team that’ll try to beat you bully-style. I think we’re all still in shock (over the win). We fought hard. It came down to big plays at the end. It didn’t come down to defense. It came down to who was going to hit the next big shot. Between Antawn (Jamison), Caron (Butler) and (Chauncey) Billups they were having a little shooting match out there.

Richard Hamilton netted 27 and Chauncey Billups chipped in 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Pistons, who had a three-game winning streak snapped. Antonio McDyess poured in 15 points and snatched six boards in the setback.

Trailing 87-82 on Arenas’ triple, the Pistons countered with a three from Billups followed by a turnaround jumper from Rasheed Wallace, tying the game 87, with 3:25 to play.

After Washington moved back in front, Detroit once again pulled even, 92-92, on Billups’ trey with 1:53 on the clock.

Hamilton’s floater gave the Pistons their first lead since 56-55, but Jamison drained a three on the other end with 50.1 remaining.

With 29.4 ticks left Billups connected on a pair from the charity stripe for a 96-95 edge, but Caron Butler hit a pair of his own from the line with 15.5 to play to move back in front, 97-96.

Wallace’s three attempt rimmed out, forcing Detroit to foul Butler, who extended the lead to 99-96 at the line with 5.2 on the clock.

After Tayshaun Prince fumbled the inbounds pass, Wallace eventually got his hands on the ball but his triple try with the clock running down was no good.

"We were looking to get Chauncey the ball if we could — Chauncey or Sheed," said Detroit head coach Flip Saunders regarding the last play. "Chauncey broke it off, Sheed bobbled it and we never got off a good look."

The Pistons held a 26-23 lead after the opening 12 minutes of play.

McDyess’ tip-in gave Detroit a 45-35 lead, but the Wizards closed the half with an 11-3 run, capped by Arenas’ long three-pointer as time expired, cutting the deficit to 48-46.

Trailing 52-47, Washington tallied eight straight points, including four from DeShawn Stevenson, for a 55-52 margin.

Prince’s layup narrowed the gap to 60-58, however, the Wizards closed the quarter by scoring 12 of the final 18 points, highlighted by a buzzer-beater from Butler, who missed his first six shots of the contest. The bucket extended the lead 72-64 heading into the fourth quarter.

Game Notes

Arenas has 13 buzzer-beaters this season, nine of them coming from long distance...Butler didn’t score in double figures for the first time all season. He had eight points and seven rebounds...Detroit is 17-6 when leading at the half...Wallace finished with 14 points and eight boards while Prince had 11 points and eight rebounds...The Pistons shot 46 percent from the floor, while the Wizards connected on 44 percent of their shots from the field...Detroit won the battle of the boards, 47-36.