Detroit — Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy has lamented the slow starts the team has had, with poor defense leading to double-digit deficits in the first quarter.
It makes it hard to climb out of holes when the reserves have huge margins to overcome and play from behind.
The Pistons turned the tables on Friday night.
Instead of a deficit, the starting lineup left with a 15-point lead near the end of the first quarter.
That wasn’t enough, either.
Over the final minute of the first quarter and opening five minutes of the second the Washington Wizards erased that lead, and they pulled away with a third-quarter surge, en route to a 122-112 victory over the Pistons at Little Caesars Arena.