Anthony Davis scores 44 but Pistons beat Wizards 122-111

Anthony Davis scored 44 points and grabbed 13 rebounds but the Washington Wizards lost to the Detroit Pistons 122-111 on Monday night, ESPN reported. John Collins led the Pistons with 24 points and 10 rebounds.

The Pistons improved to 7-3, their best start since 2008. The Wizards fell to 4-7 and have lost three straight. The game was played at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

Davis’s 44 points were a season high. He shot 17 of 28 from the field and 10 of 12 from the free-throw line. He scored 18 in the first quarter and had 30 by halftime. It was the most points a player has scored in a loss this season.

The Wizards acquired Davis from Dallas at the 2026 trade deadline in the deal that sent Luka Doncic to the Lakers and eventually brought Cooper Flagg to the Mavericks. Washington traded for Davis to pair with rookie guard AJ Johnson, and the plan was for Davis to be the veteran anchor on a young team. He has been that. He is averaging 27.2 points, 11.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks, and he is the only Wizard averaging more than 15 points.

The problem is the rest of the roster. Johnson, the 19-year-old point guard Washington drafted 11th overall, is averaging 9.8 points on 38% shooting. He has been a starter since opening night and has struggled with the speed of the NBA game. His assist-to-turnover ratio is 1.4, the worst among starting point guards. The Wizards’ offense stalls when Davis is on the bench, and he is on the bench for 10 minutes a game because of load management for his history of injuries.

Davis has played 66 games in a season once in his career, in 2019-20 with the Lakers. He has missed at least 20 games in every other season. The Wizards are managing his minutes to keep him healthy, but the team is not good enough to win without him. Washington is plus-3.2 with Davis on the floor and minus-8.7 with him off, the largest on-off differential on any team.

The Pistons do not have that problem. They have six players averaging double figures, and their bench outscored Washington’s 38-14 on Monday. Cade Cunningham, the No. 1 overall pick in 2021, is averaging 22.1 points and 8.4 assists and has been the engine of everything Detroit does. He had 19 points and 11 assists against the Wizards, his sixth double-double of the season.

Detroit’s defense is the difference. The Pistons are fifth in defensive rating, allowing 108.7 points per 100 possessions. Coach J.B. Bickerstaff, hired after Monty Williams was fired last season, has installed a switching defense that uses the length of Ausar Thompson and Jalen Duren to cover ground. Thompson, the fifth pick in the 2023 draft, is averaging 1.7 steals and has guarded the opponent’s best perimeter player every game. Duren is averaging 12.3 rebounds, third in the league behind Wembanyama and Domantas Sabonis.

Collins has been the Pistons’ surprise. Detroit acquired him from Utah in the offseason for a second-round pick and salary filler, and he has been the starting power forward. He is averaging 16.8 points on 54% shooting, his best numbers since his second season in Atlanta. He and Duren form a frontcourt that rebounds and runs, and Bickerstaff has let them play through mistakes that Williams would have benched them for.

The Pistons have not made the playoffs since 2019, the longest drought in the Eastern Conference. They won 14 games two seasons ago, the worst record in franchise history. They won 28 last season under Williams, who was fired anyway because the ownership felt the team should have been better. Bickerstaff has them at 7-3 and the fans at Little Caesars Arena are watching a team that plays hard every night.

Davis’s individual performance was the best of the night in the NBA. He scored on post-ups, pick-and-rolls, putbacks and a three. He blocked three shots. He played 36 minutes, the most he has played this season, and he did it on the second night of a back-to-back. The Wizards were in Chicago on Sunday, where Davis had 31 and 9 in a win. He is healthy and producing, and the question is whether the team around him can catch up.

The Wizards’ front office knew the trade was a risk. Davis has played more than 60 games in a season twice in his career. He has missed time with groin, back, knee and foot injuries. The Wizards are paying him $43 million this season and $54 million next season, and they gave up two first-round picks to get him. If he stays healthy, the trade works. If he does not, the Wizards have given up their future for a half-season rental. So far he has played 11 of 11, ESPN’s Bobby Marks noted in his trade analysis, and the Wizards are 4-7.

What I think

Anthony Davis is one of the 10 best players in the league when he is healthy, and he is healthy right now. The Wizards traded for him knowing his injury history, and so far he has rewarded them. But 44 points in a loss is the story of his career. He was the best player on a Lakers team that won a championship in 2020, and he was the best player on a Lakers team that missed the playoffs in 2024. The difference was never him. It was the roster around him.

The Pistons are the most improved team in the league. They were 14-68 two years ago. They are 7-3 now. Bickerstaff has them playing defense, Cunningham is playing like an All-Star, and the front office has surrounded them with athletes who can run. Detroit has waited a long time for a team worth watching. This is it.