DETROIT _ After losing five straight games, the Pistons got what they needed.
The cure for a long losing skid is an easy win. By the end of the third quarter on Thursday night, the Pistons already had scored a game's worth of points.
That made the fourth quarter a formality.
The Pistons had one of their best offensive performances of an otherwise dismal season, cruising past the Washington Wizards, 132-102, at Little Caesars Arena and turning a troubling trend with a win over a struggling team.
The 132 points tied the season high and their 106 points after three quarters were more than the Pistons had scored in 11 complete games this season.
The Wizards (9-21) surprisingly had won the first two meetings this season, but the Pistons (12-20) turned the tables, building a 20-point lead at halftime and ending their five-game skid with a convincing victory. The win gives them a boost heading into their six-game western trip beginning Saturday at San Antonio.
Christian Wood had 22 points and seven rebounds, Tim Frazier had 17 points and six assists, Blake Griffin had 14 points and 11 rebounds and Andre Drummond added 14 points and 10 rebounds.
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The Pistons built a 31-23 lead after the first quarter but pushed it to double digits after a 3-pointer by Derrick Rose (15 points and six assists). They extended the lead later in the period, with an 11-3 run, including seven points by Bruce Brown (12 points, five rebounds and five assists) and four from Wood.
They finished the quarter with the final six points, with Drummond splitting a pair of free throws, Tony Snell hitting a 3-pointer and Drummond getting a putback just before the buzzer, for a 68-48 lead.
The Pistons put it away in the third quarter, with another 28-15 run in the first eight minutes, sparked by a 14-4 flurry. Griffin and Wood had four points each and Frazier hit a 3-pointer as the Pistons eventually took a 106-76 lead into the fourth quarter.
