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Harris drops 21 in Pistons debut, but Wall leads Wizards to romp

Rob Carr / Getty Images Sport / Getty

It was both an encouraging and slightly inauspicious Detroit Pistons debut for Tobias Harris on Friday night.

The 23-year-old combo forward, who was acquired in a trade from the Orlando Magic just ahead of the deadline, came off the bench to give his new team 30 productive minutes. He fit seamlessly into the Pistons' offense, scoring in a multitude of ways, and piling up 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting.

Unfortunately for Harris and the Pistons, John Wall exists, and he did all manner of John Wall things for the Washington Wizards to lead his team to a wire-to-wire 98-86 win.

A night after trouncing the Utah Jazz, Wall showed no ill effects of the back-to-back as he knifed through the Pistons' defense, carved them up in the open court, and bottled up their guards at the other end.

Wall finished with 22 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, a steal, a block, and a plus-24 rating in 35 minutes. The red-hot Marcin Gortat pitched in with 15 points and nine boards, and Bradley Beal scored 17 on 7-of-10 shooting to help the Wizards pick up a crucial win as they look to climb back into the Eastern Conference playoff picture. They now sit just two games back of eighth place, and just a game behind the ninth-place Pistons.

Harris wasn't the only player donning new duds in the game. Former Phoenix Suns forward Markieff Morris played his first game as a Wizard, with less success. The long-disgruntled 26-year-old shot just 2-of-8 for six points, with two rebounds, no assists, and two turnovers off the bench.

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