Stuckey, Wallace lead Pistons past Wizards

[April 06, 2012]  AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- Greg Monroe had 18 points and seven rebounds, Rodney Stuckey scored 15 points in his return from injury, and Ben Wallace made five key free throws down the stretch as the Detroit Pistons beat the Washington Wizards 99-94 Thursday night.

Even with Monroe playing well, Pistons coach Lawrence Frank went with the 37-year-old Wallace down the stretch to help stop John Wall's penetration.

The Wizards were missing Nene and Trevor Booker with foot injuries, but rallied from a 20-point deficit to pull within five late in the game. Wall finished with 28 points and 10 assists, while Kevin Seraphin had 15 points before fouling out.

Detroit could have put the game away in the first half, but missed 11 of 24 free throws to let Washington stay close, 51-40. Monroe took advantage of the Wizards' issues inside to put up 13 points and six rebounds in the half, but Wall outscored Brandon Knight 11-0 in the matchup of former Kentucky point guards.

The Wizards tried to rally in the third quarter, but missed several layups. Stuckey, returning from a hamstring injury, scored seven points late in the period to give Detroit a 76-64 lead going into the fourth.

The Pistons led by 20 in the fourth, but three Washington 3-pointers made it 87-77 with 6:50 to play. It was 94-86 with 2:18 left when the Wizards went to the Hack-a-Ben strategy, intentionally fouling Wallace three times in 16 seconds.

Wallace, a 26 percent free-throw shooter this season, hit five of the six shots to foil the plan.

[Associated Press]

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