Washington Wizards Fall To Detroit Pistons, Marcus Morris Hits Buzzer Beater
Washington Wizards’ Markieff Morris seemed to get the best of his twin, Marcus Morris, but the Detroit Pistons pulled away with the win at the buzzer.
Markieff Morris and his twin brother, Marcus Morris, have literally been inseparable since birth.
But after the Phoenix Suns traded Marcus to the Detroit Pistons in 2015, the twins were forced to start their independent basketball careers. The trade caused Markieff to essentially force his way out of Phoenix after getting into verbal altercations with his teammates and then-head coach, Jeff Hornacek.
When no one else wanted to touch him, the Washington Wizards swapped a first round pick for Markieff, acquiring the versatile forward they’ve been missing for years.
On Friday night, the twins met again in Detroit.
Washington looked to get their second straight win on the road, but a slow start and sloppy third quarter put them in a hole.
Despite being down by double-digits in the fourth, the Wizards climbed out of the hole, surprisingly led by their energetic second unit.
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Jason Smith scored a season-high 16 points and Kelly Oubre added 11 points.
Their enthusiasm carried over to the starters, as they got consecutive stops down the stretch to cut the lead.
Otto Porter made a couple of key baskets and the Wizards gained a lead of their own.
On what should’ve been the Pistons’ final possession, Markieff blocked Marcus. The play was originally called a goaltend by the officials, but was quickly overturned.
Washington failed to execute on their play, giving the Pistons one final look to win the game.
Tobias Harris missed an open shot from 12 feet, but Marcus hovered about his twin, tipping the ball in at the buzzer. The basket was ruled good, 113-112.
While losing at the buzzer is disappointing, the Washington Wizards’ lack of effort defensively was the bigger issue.
Over the past several games, the Wizards have done a solid job of starting well defensively and have played with high energy for 48 minutes. Against the Pistons, the Wizards were either late to contest shots or didn’t contest shots at all.
Bradley Beal missed all seven of his 3-point attempts, making it that much more difficult for the Wizards to get away with their defensive lapses. Porter also struggled, scoring 11 points on 13 attempts.
For some reason, the Wizards just haven’t put it together on the road. For them to truly contend in the East, they have to play with the same amount of energy away from home. Deciding to play defense in the fourth quarter won’t cut it.
Washington will continue their road trip on Monday against the Charlotte Hornets.
