DETROIT – There’s an old saying in the NBA that isn’t bulletproof but holds up pretty well: How you start, it goes, is how you finish.
Well, Washington started by making 17 of 21 shots in the first quarter and finished by making 14 of 18 in the fourth. Add that up and it’s 31 of 39 or a tidy 79.5 percent. In those two quarters, the Wizards – losers of four straight games and 7-17 before Monday’s tipoff – scored 80 points.
That was enough for a 133-119 win over the Pistons, the most points a Pistons team has given up in regulation since 1995 – just before the advent of the dreaded Teal Era.