Anthony Davis scored 44 points and grabbed 13 rebounds — including a season-best 30 points in the first half — and still ended up on the losing side, as the Detroit Pistons beat the Washington Wizards 122-111 on Monday night.
Davis had been a game-time decision because of an ankle issue, but he was, in the words of NBC Sports, “an automatic bucket” from the opening tip, according to the Associated Press and NBC Sports. It did not matter. John Collins had 24 points and 10 rebounds for Detroit, and the Pistons’ balance beat Washington’s one-man show.
The win improved Detroit to 7-3, a day after they had lost 121-116 at home to the Lakers, when Austin Reaves scored 43 points. The Pistons have bounced back quickly from that defeat, and their start to the season is one of the quiet success stories of the East.
One star is not enough
Davis’s night was extraordinary and, in the end, futile. Thirty points before half-time, 44 by the end, 13 rebounds — and a double-digit defeat. Washington’s problem is not their star’s production but everything around it: when one player scores 44 and the team still loses by 11, the supporting cast is not doing enough.
Detroit, by contrast, spread the scoring and defended well enough to hold Washington at arm’s length. Collins led the way, but the Pistons’ win was a team performance — the kind that wins games in November and matters in April.
What comes next
Washington will hope Davis’s ankle holds up after he played through the issue, while Detroit will look to keep building on a 7-3 start that has them firmly in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
Sources: Associated Press via The Herald Review (Nov 10, 2026); NBC Sports (Nov 10, 2026); Sportradar (Nov 9, 2026).
