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October 11, 2026 at 4:02 AM UTC

Postgame Report

Wizards hold off Pistons 114-108 in preseason meeting at Capital One Arena

Washington moved to 2-0 in the preseason with a six-point win over a Detroit team that had the East's best record last year.

Detroit Pistons Starting Lineup at Washington Wizards in Preseason Battle — Sports Illustrated
Detroit Pistons Starting Lineup at Washington Wizards in Preseason Battle — Sports Illustrated

The Washington Wizards beat the Detroit Pistons 114-108 on Saturday night at Capital One Arena, a 7 p.m. tip that was a preseason game in every sense: early October, rotations still being sorted, and a six-point final that said more about the standings of the next few weeks than about anything yet to come. Washington made the margin hold in the fourth quarter, and that was enough.

The win kept the Wizards unbeaten after their preseason opener against the New York Knicks, and it gave the home crowd another look at a roster that barely resembles last year's. Trae Young arrived from Atlanta, Anthony Davis from Dallas, and AJ Dybantsa is in the mix too. Whatever the exhibition schedule is for, it is partly about getting that group used to one another, and at 2-0 nobody in the building was complaining about the early returns.

Detroit came in with a different sort of résumé. The Pistons had the best record in the East last season, which makes any meeting with them a handy measuring stick, even in October. This was their second preseason game in short order, following a 109-107 win over Phoenix in the opener. That one was tight to the end; this one was not much looser, but the Pistons were the ones playing from behind at the finish.

The other thing hanging over Detroit was Jalen Duren. He is on a new $200 million contract, missed the opener after reporting late, and was listed again as a game-time decision, this time for rest. For a team with the Pistons' expectations, his availability and conditioning will matter far more in a few weeks than a preseason result in Washington does tonight.

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