The Detroit Pistons just snapped a two-game skid with a massive 122-111 victory over the Washington Wizards Monday night at Little Caesars Arena, and you won’t believe how it went down. Coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who was straight-up speechless after his team managed only 14 first-quarter points in Sunday’s loss to the Lakers, decided to make a crazy move: he totally revamped the starting lineup, throwing Daniss Jenkins in for Paul Reed. This created a huge size disadvantage against a super tall Wizards squad, but guess what? It sparked one of their most productive first quarters all season.
Collins Goes From Frustrated To Fired Up
Seriously, John Collins looked like a completely different player out there. Coming into this game, he had scored in double figures only once in the last six games, averaging a quiet 6.3 points and 4.7 rebounds. The Lakers game was his absolute worst performance, and you could see he was visibly upset with how he was playing. But against the Wizards, the dude set the tone from the jump, dropping nine of the team’s first 18 points. Every single time Washington tried to make a run, Collins either hit a timely bucket or locked up on defense to stop them cold. Starting at center, which is wild considering the size disadvantage, he finished with a season-high 24 points on an efficient 9-for-13 shooting, plus grabbed 10 boards. You want a highlight? At 7:19 in the first quarter, Ausar Thompson hit him with an alley-oop that made Wizards coach Brian Keefe call a timeout. Collins was celebrating passionately walking back to the bench. You love to see that fire.
Wizards’ Davis Goes Off, But Pistons Hold On
It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for Detroit, though. While Collins was balling out, the biggest criticism about his defense has been his inability to guard Anthony Davis. And sure enough, Davis, who was back after missing two games with a foot injury, absolutely went off. He dropped a season-high 44 points on an insane 16-for-20 shooting, adding 13 rebounds. He scored 30 points on 10-for-11 shooting just in the first half, basically doing whatever he wanted inside and just exposing the Pistons’ lack of size, especially with Jalen Duren out for his eighth straight game with a hamstring strain. The Pistons reportedly chased Davis at the trade deadline last year, and tonight, he showed exactly why. Meanwhile, Duncan Robinson kept his impressive start to the season going with 22 points, hitting 4-for-8 from deep, and Daniss Jenkins, following up his career-best game against the Lakers, dropped 20 points, eight assists, and five rebounds. For Washington, Trae Young had an inefficient 20 points on 3-for-10 from beyond the arc, but rookie AJ Dybantsa, the reigning No. 1 pick from the 2026 NBA Draft, looked solid with 21 points and eight rebounds. Bickerstaff praised Dybantsa’s “willingness to compete and take challenges,” saying he “doesn’t back down” from elite players.
This Pistons win was a gutsy one, showing that Bickerstaff isn’t afraid to shake things up when the team is struggling. With Collins back in form and some key players stepping up, let’s see if they can build on this momentum.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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