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New Year's Pixels, Wizards vs. Pistons: John Wall, bench lead Washington back to .500

A couple days after blowing out the Pistons at home, the Wizards looked hapless at The Palace of Auburn Hills. That is, until the fourth quarter, when the reserves came in.

Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

The Washington Wizards were down 12 points late in the third quarter against the Detroit Pistons, seemingly headed towards a split of their home-and-home series that began Saturday with a dominating 106-82 home win.

Then Randy Wittman emptied his bench, which these days includes Nene and Martell Webster, so it wasn't exactly waving a white flag, but still, Washington's reserves have arguably been the league's worst this season, so it's safe to say that things didn't look good.

And then things got better. Nene made a layup and free throw to end the quarter, and assisted a Webster layup to start the fourth. A couple Kevin Seraphin layups, an Otto Porter jumper, and Webster three later, and in four minutes the Wizards' bench had turned a 12-point deficit into a two-point lead.

John Wall finished the Pistons off with a number of clutch plays, and generally played another excellent game, finishing with a game-high 29 points and seven assists. No other Wizard scored more than 15 points, but Washington did get 35 points from its maligned reserves, including seven from rookie Otto Porter, who made 3-of-4 shots and a couple nice defensive plays with his length.

Oh yeah, and the win got the Wizards back to .500 for the second time this season. Happy New Year everybody!! Stay safe.

KEY LINKS

Road team recaps: BF StoryStream | Washington Post (gamersidebar) | APCSN WashingtonTruth About ItWiz of AwesHoop DistrictDC Pro Sports ReportTed's TakeWizards.comMonumental NetworkDaily Wizdom

Home team recaps: Detroit Bad Boys | Detroit Free Press (gamersidebar) | The Detroit NewsMLivePistons.com

Game highlights

Postgame interviews: Randy Wittman John WallBradley BealMartell WebsterMarcin GortatOtto PorterTrevor Ariza

KEY STATS

0 - Wizards starters with a positive plus/minus against the Pistons.

5 - Wizards reserves with a double-digit plus/minus against the Pistons.

14 - Free throws made by John Wall against the Pistons, on 15 attempts.

TWEETS OF THE NIGHT

VIDEO/GIF OF THE NIGHT

Goodness. [H/T @Truth_About_It)

GAMETHREAD COMMENT OF THE NIGHT

Good to see an old friend again.

GAMETHREAD ROLLCALL

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