Pistons end 6-game skid by handing Wizards 5th in row

• Detroit Pistons beat Washington Wizards 100-68 Friday night
• Pistons entered with six-game losing streak but ended it by bringing Wizards' to five
• Teams meet again Saturday night, in Washington

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — The Detroit Pistons did what they are supposed to do Friday night.

The injury-riddled Washington Wizards, who had lost five consecutive games and owned the worst record in the NBA, visited The Palace of Auburn Hills and were able to dress just nine players.

It was just what the doctor ordered for the Pistons, who had lost six in a row.

They jumped on the Wizards right from the start in rolling to a 100-68 victory in which only one Piston, backup guard Kim English, who dressed failed to score. Now the task is to do it again (or at least get another victory) with the teams playing again Saturday night in Washington.

But with their first victory in nearly two weeks, the Pistons were just happy to rack up a mark in the win column.

"It's good to taste that winning feeling after losing (six) games in a row," Pistons coach Lawrence Frank said. "Now the challenge is different because you have to play the same opponent on their floor."

Andre Drummond continued his campaign for more playing time by setting career highs with 14 rebounds and five blocked shots. He added 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting.

"He's done a great job of coming in and bring a lot of energy," Pistons forward Greg Monroe said. "He's doing what (Frank) is asking him to do, control the boards, patrol the paint so he's only going to get better.

"I'm not surprised by anything right now; he's doing his job."

Both teams got off to sluggish starts, but the Pistons (8-21) were able to take a commanding first-quarter lead because they went 9-for-12 at the free-throw line. Charlie Villanueva gave the Pistons a 29-14 lead at the end of the quarter after a nice pass from Brandon Knight, who had 11 first-quarter points. He finished with 15 points and four assists.

"It's just the ability to get into the paint and get some bonus points there was big," Frank said.

The lead grew to as much as 34 as the Pistons held the Wizards (3-21) to 32.9% shooting. It became a laugher as even Ukrainian rookie center Slava Kravtsov made his debut and the Pistons' bench erupted after his two-handed slam with 22.1 seconds left accounted for the last points of the game.

Wizards guard Bradley Beal (sore back) and center Nene (sore foot) are expected to play tonight after missing Friday night.

"It's always fun to get a win, especially at home," said Monroe, who had 15 points and nine rebounds. "We can't get too high right now. We have to figure what we need to clean up a little bit.

"We're expecting some different people to play tomorrow for them so we got to get prepared to play tomorrow."

Vince Ellis writes for the Detroit Free Press