AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - Washington's high-scoring backcourt of Bradley Beal and John Wall was held in check most of the way on Saturday night. Following an uplifting performance by the bench, that duo finally made a couple of clutch shots.

The Wizards reserves outscored the Detroit Pistons' bench 51-15, and Washington held on for a 97-95 victory at The Palace.

Veteran power forward Nene and point guard Ramon Sessions provided the biggest spark. Nene had a season-high 18 points on 9-of-10 shooting while Sessions contributed 14 points and a season-high nine assists.

"Our second unit was the reason why we had an opportunity to close out this game," said Wall, who was held to eight points and seven assists. "Give a lot of credit to those guys, they stepped up and played big for us tonight."

Beal, who returned to action after missing three games with a sore left shoulder, had just seven points. But he made a go-ahead jumper with 5:31 remaining and Wall followed with a 14-foot shot. Wall also set up the last two Wizards' baskets.

"We just have a no-quit mindset," said Wall, also referring to Beal. "In the fourth quarter, we know the ball is going to be in our hands and we want to be the guys making the shots and making the plays. Coming out of the timeout, when we got back in, we said, 'Let's take over. Let's win this game.'"

The Wizards nearly gave it back. After Washington committed five-second violation with 9.2 seconds remaining, Pistons small forward Marcus Morris missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer from the top of the key as the buzzer sounded.

Small forward Otto Porter Jr. supplied 17 points while center Marcin Gortat added 14 points for Washington (6-4).

Point guard Reggie Jackson's 20 points and nine assists led Detroit (7-6). Morris and power forward Ersan Ilyasova had 18 points apiece and shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 16.

"We can't play the starters more minutes than we are, we just can't," Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said. "As a matter of fact, we need to get those minutes down. If you just look at the plus-minus, our starters were dominant tonight and we still couldn't get a win. It's frustrating."

Pistons center Andre Drummond saw his streak of consecutive double-doubles to start the season end at 12, as he finished with eight points and 13 rebounds. He came up one shy of the franchise mark. Dave DeBusschere had 13 consecutive double-doubles to start the 1966-67 season.

Drummond did not have an offensive rebound.

"We have guys coming in (the lane) when the shot goes up to help, rather than stand on the perimeter," Washington coach Randy Wittman said. "He's a load, and our guys battled all night long on the boards."

The third quarter featured two big runs. The Pistons scored 13 unanswered points, including two 3-pointers by Caldwell-Pope, to gain an 11-point lead. But the Wizards roared back with 17-4 run the remainder of the quarter to take a 75-73 lead.

Washington also opened up a 14-point lead in the first half when the reserves were on the court.

"Our bench saved the day twice for us," Wittman said.

Morris' putback with 5:46 left gave Detroit a one-point advantage. Washington responded with the jumpers from Beal and Wall, along with a Nene layup, to make it 94-89.

Gortat's layup with 1:06 remaining gave the Wizards a 96-91 lead. After Ilyasova scored, Morris had a chance to tie it but missed an open 3-point try.

The ball also wound up in Morris' hands on the final possession but his step-back shot glanced off the rim.

"The last play, I just kind of broke it off early," said Jackson, who threw the ball to Morris. "I just have to trust that we have enough time to complete the play."

NOTES: Pistons C Andre Drummond is just the second player in the last 22 seasons with at least 12 straight points/rebounds double-doubles to start a season. Kevin Love had 15 in a row at the beginning of the 2011-12 season. "You're almost shocked when he only has 11 (rebounds) and that's his low for the year," Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy said. "It's a pretty incredible start for him on the boards." ... Washington PF Kris Humphries made 14 3-pointers during his first nine games after not making any since the 2004-05 season. ... The Wizards are 5-0 when holding opponents below 100 points. ... Detroit rookie SF Stanley Johnson scored eight late-game points in the team's comeback win at Minnesota on Friday night. "He's not afraid of any of those situations," Van Gundy said. ... The teams play three more times, all after the All-Star break.