Anthony Davis Criticizes Wizards' Defense After 122-111 Loss to Pistons
Anthony Davis scored 44 points, but Washington fell 122-111 at Detroit for its fourth straight loss, and he listed the team's problems afterward.
The Washington Wizards lost 122-111 at the Detroit Pistons on Monday night, their fourth straight defeat. Washington dropped to 4-7 on the season, while Detroit improved to 7-3. Afterward, Anthony Davis was asked what had gone wrong over the last four games and did not focus on anything Detroit had done.
"Everything, everything, everything," Davis said, before going through a list of concerns. "We're not playing any defense. We're not rebounding. We're giving up open threes, fouling, not guarding the ball. Everything."
Turnovers and transition decided the game
The clearest gap was the turnover count. Washington committed 18 turnovers to Detroit's 10, and the Pistons turned those chances into points. Detroit scored 19 fast-break points to Washington's four and finished with 31 assists on 43 made field goals.
The game slipped away from Washington in the middle quarters. Detroit scored 37 points in the second quarter and 35 in the third, 72 points across that stretch. The Pistons led for 94% of the game and by as many as 19.
Some of Davis's complaints are not in the box score
Not every item on Davis's list held up statistically. Washington won the rebounding battle 46-45, with 14 offensive and 32 defensive rebounds compared with Detroit's 11 and 34. Detroit also did not dominate from distance, making eight of 31 three-point attempts (25.8%), while Washington made nine of 36 (25.0%).
The foul complaint was more accurate. Detroit reached the free-throw line 31 times and made 28, a 90.3% success rate. Washington made 20 of 28 free throws.
Davis led all scorers
Davis was the most productive player on the floor. He scored 44 points on 16-of-21 shooting, 76.2% from the field, and added 13 rebounds, one assist and one steal in just over 34 minutes. He scored 30 of those points in the first half, going 10-of-11 from the field there. He played after missing Washington's previous two games with a right ankle sprain, and he entered Monday as a game-time decision.
The teams meet again on Thursday, Nov. 12, at 7 p.m. ET at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. Before that, the Wizards play at Indiana on Wednesday.