Washington Wizards hold off Detroit Pistons

John Wall had 22 points and six assists as the Washington Wizards snapped their six-game losing streak following a 99-95 win over the Detroit Pistons on Saturday night.

Nene posted 21 points and seven rebounds, while Marcin Gortat added 16 points and 17 boards for the Wizards, who led by as many as 21 in the third quarter before holding the Pistons off down the stretch.

Greg Monroe tallied 21 points and 10 rebounds and Spencer Dinwiddie supplied 20 points and eight helpers for Detroit, which has lost three in a row.

The Pistons erased their 21-point deficit following a 15-4 run to start the fourth. Dinwiddie netted 10 points during the surge, including a putback dunk to give the Pistons an 85-84 edge with 6:48 remaining.

After Dinwiddie drove in for a finger roll with 18.9 seconds left to get Detroit within 96-95, Bradley Beal split a pair of foul shots, but Gortat secured the offensive rebound on the second miss.

Wall then sealed the outcome following two free throws with 7.3 ticks on the clock.

Earlier, Paul Pierce knocked down a pair of early 3-pointers as the Wizards raced out to a 12-4 advantage.

Wall's finger roll at the first quarter buzzer staked Washington to a 37-27 cushion and Gortat's late bucket in the second helped it take a 60-44 margin into the break.

Pierce's triple early in the third gave the Wizards their largest lead of 69-48 and they were up 80-70 heading into the fourth.

Game Notes

Washington avoided its first seven-game losing streak since dropping eight in a row from Dec. 12-26, 2012 ... The Wizards had lost five of their last seven games at home coming in ... Pierce finished with 14 points, five rebounds and five assists.

[SportsNetwork.com]