It was a chippy Saturday Night when the Washington Wizards faced the team that claimed the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference last season, the Detroit Pistons, as each team marked its 2nd preseason game with plenty of storylines heading into the early-season contest.

Maybe the biggest is how the No.1 overall pick, AJ Dybantsa, fares against one of the league’s best wings in Pistons forward Ausar Thompson?

When asked in pregame, both Head Coaches acknowledged the matchup, with Wizards Head Coach Brian Keefe saying he’s telling the No.1 overall pick to “just enjoy it” while Pistons Coach JB Bickerstaff simply said his answer to slowing down Dybantsa is “Ausar Thompson”.

Early on, Thompson made his presence felt as the 4th year wing stole a lob meant for the rookie that was coming from Trae Young. Not too long after, Thompson blocked Dybantsa’s jumper, returning it down the floor for an easy two, but right after that got his own layup while being guarded by the All-Defensive player.

​

While the jumper is still coming into form, the standout from BYU that led the NCAA in scoring in his lone season in college has already shown an innate ability to get to the free throw line getting 11 attempts just in the first half.

What should be a big sigh of relief for everyone on the Wizards staff, the front office, and the fans is the return of Alex Sarr to the lineup on Saturday after having surgery during the offseason and missing the first preseason game against the Knicks.

​

Despite getting the scoring started with a nice putback after an Anthony Davis miss, Sarr looked a bit rusty coming back from injury, which makes GM Will Dawkins all the smarter for bringing in veteran big man Deandre Ayton.

This was a dogfight of a game and hopefully a sign of things to come

Now, while it was just a preseason game that won’t mean anything come playoff time, this was a matchup of one team that won 60 games last year and was atop a competitive East, and another that went just 17-65 and finished with the worst record in the league but has retooled with hopes of getting to the heights that Detroit is at, and it looked every bit of that power struggle early on in the game.

​

From a dustup between Ayton and Pistons guard Isaiah Joe early after Joe fouled Dybantsa hard, to a confrontation later between forward Kyshawn George and Pistons Paul Reed and Ausar Thompson that resulted in techs for George and Reed, and then a scuffle between Trae Young and guard Daniss Jenkins that ended in an ejection for both guys made this seemingly meaningless preseason game feel like an early test between two teams trying to establish themselves for Eastern Conference supremacy.

After blowing a 20 point lead in the 1st quarter, this was a scrappy one for the Wizards that wasn’t going to be easy, especially after their floor general was kicked from the game in Young who recorded 8 assists in 23 minutes.

​

The versatility of this young Wizards group had an opportunity with their All-Star guard’s absence, to show some of the ball handling and playmaking they’d be without.

​

That facet of the game for the reserves still left a bit to be desired as the Pistons took an 89-82 lead in the 4th quarter. 2nd-round selection Felix Okpara lively upped Capital One Arena, though, to take back the momentum with a block, corner three, and then a thunderous poster dunk that brought Wiz faithful to their feet, helping the Wizards steal the lead back 95-94.

​

After a Will Riley missed three at the buzzer, DC was treated to some free basketball tonight as overtime was the only way to settle this grind-it-out game.

In OT, it was tough, but behind the play of Okpara, Will Riley, Justin Champagnie, and Chris Livingston, the Wizards outlasted the Pistons 114-108 to move to 2-0 in the preseason.

​