John Wall scored 22 points, Nene added 21 and the Washington Wizards ended their six-game losing streak with a 99-95 win over the Detroit Pistons on Saturday night.
Bradley Beal, returning after missing eight games with a stress reaction in his left leg, scored eight points in 33 minutes for the Wizards, who had lost 11 of 13 and won despite blowing a 21-point second-half lead.
Marcin Gortat scored 16 points and grabbed 17 rebounds for Washington.
Greg Monroe had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Spencer Dinwiddie added 20 off the bench for Detroit, which has lost its last three games.
With the Wizards up by one point, Beal made his first free throw with 10 seconds left, making it 97-95. He missed the second, but the rebound was batted out to Wall, who was fouled and made both shots with 7.3 seconds left.
The Wizards led by 16 at intermission, and Paul Pierce’s 3-pointer capped a 7-0 run that put them up 69-48 with 8:58 left in the third quarter.
Detroit chipped away, however and trailed 80-70 to start the fourth. A 9-0 run got the Pistons within one, and when Dinwiddie rebounded his own miss and dunked, the Pistons led 85-84 with 6:46 left.
The Wizards regained the lead for good, 90-89, on two free throws by Gortat.
Pierce, who scored 14 points, also returned from injury after missing two games with a bruised left knee. Kris Humphries, who strained a groin muscle at Minnesota on Wednesday, missed his second consecutive game.
Both teams were coming off losses Friday night, but the Pistons played two overtime periods against the Knicks before traveling to Washington.
The Wizards hit their first five shots, including a pair of 3-pointers by Pierce, and quickly led 12-4. They shot 66.7 percent in the first quarter and led by as many as 14 points.
Anthony Tolliver’s 3-pointer pulled Detroit to within 45-38 midway through the second, but Drew Gooden’s long-range jumper shortly thereafter started a quick 7-0 run to help the Wizards lead, 60-44, at halftime.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who averaged 23 points in the first two meetings with Washington, was held to five points.
The Wizards’ 37 first-quarter points were a season high.
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