Daniss Jenkins scores 22 in his first start of the season and John Collins posts double-double as Detroit rebounds from Sunday’s loss to the Lakers

Less than 24 hours after a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, the Detroit Pistons came back to Little Caesars Arena with an edge. They forced 19 turnovers, took the lead for good on the first possession of the second quarter and beat the Washington Wizards, 122-111 on Monday night.

John Collins led Detroit with 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds for a double-double. Daniss Jenkins made his first start of the season and scored 22 points, with eight assists, six rebounds and four steals. Duncan Robinson added 22 points, and Cade Cunningham had 17 points and seven assists despite foul trouble that held him to 26 minutes.

Bickerstaff said he started Jenkins to improve Detroit’s starts and to get the matchups he wanted.

“I think DJ has earned more with the way that he’s sparked us coming off of the bench,” Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “We talked about our starts and how we thought we could improve those starts. Matchups dictated some of that also. Being able to have him go up against Trae Young, and then put AT (Ausar Thompson) on AJ (Dybantsa), I thought that matchup would be good for us as well.”

The change paid off. Washington turned it over six times in the first five minutes. Jenkins had two steals on back-to-back possessions and threw two alley-oops to Collins, and a cutting dunk from Thompson put Detroit up 18-9 midway through the first quarter. Young scored 12 points in the period and put the Wizards ahead, 32-31, with a 3-pointer in the final minute.

Collins opened the second quarter with a turnaround hook to put Detroit back in front, and the Pistons led the rest of the night. Robinson hit back-to-back 3-pointers, Javonte Green scored seven points off the bench and Paul Reed added a putback dunk in a 37-26 quarter. Detroit took a 68-58 lead into halftime.

“I knew we were going to come out with an edge based off of how last night went,” Robinson said. “This is a prideful group. You know, didn’t necessarily need to be perfect, but just needed the effort and intention to be better, and it was.”

The Pistons’ biggest test came in the third quarter. Cunningham picked up his fourth foul with 7:21 left and his fifth a minute later, and Washington cut the lead to eight. Jenkins answered by scoring 13 of his points in the period on 5-of-6 shooting. He hit a 3-pointer and three mid-range jumpers in the final four minutes, and Detroit took a 103-87 lead into the fourth.

“We’re tough when Daniss is aggressive like that,” Robinson said. “We love to see him be an aggressive playmaker for himself and others. But, yeah, it’s by committee. No one can do what Cade can do with the ball. … AT was a monster on both sides. A lot of guys stepped up. K Huert (Kevin Huerter) was great. It was by committee.”

Rookie Ebuka Okorie scored five quick points early in the fourth, and Robinson’s driving bank shot pushed the lead to 19. Washington got no closer than 11 the rest of the way.

Anthony Davis led the Wizards with 44 points on 16-of-21 shooting and 13 rebounds, including 30 points in the first half. Dybantsa added 21 points and Young had 20 points and seven assists. Detroit held the Wizards to 25% from 3-point range and outscored them 19-4 in fast-break points.

With the win, Detroit improved to 7-3 while Washington fell to 4-7.

Robinson said the team’s identity starts on defense.

“I think the intensity and the sort of frenetic energy defensively is where it has to start,” Robinson said. “Never want anybody to be comfortable. And then offensively, I think what you said is just the willingness to share the game, right? Like, different guys have had different nights. We embrace that, we celebrate that.”

Detroit and Washington meet again on Thursday, Nov. 8, this time at Capital One Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. That game can be seen on The Spot- Detroit 20 and heard on 97.1 FM The Ticket.