WASHINGTON -- Spencer Dinwiddie bumped the Detroit Pistons' starting point guard, Reggie Jackson, during the team's fourth-quarter comeback Saturday.

But when only two shower heads worked in the locker room, it was the rookie point guard getting bumped by his more experienced teammates and forced to wait for his chance.

He has done plenty of waiting and working up a lather this season, and in just more than a week he started and beat the Chicago Bulls, then played the critical comeback role before the Pistons' effort came up short, 99-95 to the Washington Wizards.

Dinwiddie had 20 points -- 13 in the fourth quarter -- along with four rebounds and eight assists.

"It's all about being comfortable," Dinwiddie said. "Everybody's in the league's good, everybody can play, so it makes a point guard's job real easy because you've got great players around you and you're able to just find guys. Like I said, it's all about being comfortable when you know you can go out there and make a mistake or two, and your leash is a little bit longer."

Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said he only planned to play Dinwiddie for seven to eight minutes in the second half, then simply couldn't take him out.

"He was playing too well," Van Gundy said. "He made a lot of plays, he stayed on the attack. Outstanding game. He had a good game against Chicago earlier in the week but this was his best game by far. I thought he did a hell of a job and gave us a chance to win."

Andre Drummond said Dinwiddie is "really starting to find his niche."

"I think we're letting him play more mistake-free, like he can make whatever decision he wants to make, and he's playing great," Drummond said. "He's being aggressive when he has the ball. He's making the right decisions with the passes he makes. I'm happy for him and proud of him."

In the final half-minute of the game, with the Pistons trailing by three, Dinwiddie found himself guarded by Nene after transition.

Dinwiddie confidently waved his teammates away and drove the Wizards' big man to the basket for a layup to bring the Pistons within 96-95.

"It was something that Stan talked about. He said if they switch, you either have to post, or you have to draw the big out and you iso him," Dinwiddie said. "In that situation, I felt like I could beat him, and I'm always kind of playing odds in my head, so I felt like that was a better decision than just calm down and post the ball, because time wasn't on our side at that point in the game. Iso's quicker. So get to the basket and try to get a bucket."

Dinwiddie said he sensed that Van Gundy was riding him longer than intended during a fourth quarter when the player didn't leave the floor.

"It's one of those things where he's playing the odds, too," Dinwiddie said. "He's playing the probability. If you've got a guy that's playing really well, generally you stick with him. Stan made that decision. I'm not going to read too much into it. But at the same time, it is nice to know that your coach has confidence in you."

Van Gundy said he would continue to read game situations in determining whether Dinwiddie or John Lucas III gets most of the backup minutes at point guard.

Dinwiddie's attack mentality, demonstrated here like it hadn't been before, drew attention.

"He's smart, he sees the floor, he can make plays," Van Gundy said. "Tonight, he was more aggressive. Now that part, we haven't necessarily seen on any kind of consistent basis, even in practice. Tonight, he did that. Really, really happy for him, and proud of him. I thought he did a great job."

PISTONS NOTES

Taking analytics seriously: The Pistons had four representatives at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference this weekend in Boston. Van Gundy always has insisted his coaching style is reflected in analytics, not vice versa, but one of his major initiatives as president of basketball operations was boosting the analytics staff. Van Gundy was asked Saturday if he can cite ways analytics altered his approach. "In fairness, looking back, as you've made subtle shifts, it's hard to say why you've made them, as I look back in years," he said. "But I'm someone who looks at all those numbers, so I'm sure they've had some influence on what I'm doing, but I can't point to anything specific. We use them all the time to evaluate players. I use them all the time to evaluate what kind of shots we're getting and giving up. But that didn't really change my philosophy. I had my philosophy on what shots I wanted to get before I was looking at the numbers. But I do use the numbers." The four Pistons representatives in Boston were assistant general manager Ken Catanella, executive director of basketball operations Andrew Loomis, director of strategic planning Pat Garrity and software engineer Jorge Costa.

Remembering Anthony Mason: The former Knick passed away Saturday at age 48. Tim Hardaway Sr., the Pistons assistant, played with Mason during the 2000-01 season in Miami and remembered the player's work ethic. "I remember passing to him for jump shots for three hours one day." That year in Miami also was Mason's only All-Star season as he took the reins inside with Alonzo Mourning missing 69 games with kidney disease. Van Gundy was an assistan on that team. "I think it hits you two ways," he said. "One, you know the guy, and you played with him and everything else. But two, we sort of all get to that age, and here's a guy our age, and when people your age start dying, and it's not in an accident and things like that, it makes all of us think a little bit. So I think it hits you on two fronts. But I feel for him and his family, his mom and his kids, obviously a really, really tough day."

Pistons at Washington Wizards 2-28-15 21 Gallery: Pistons at Washington Wizards 2-28-15

-- Download the Detroit Pistons on MLive app for iPhone and Android

-- Like MLive's Detroit Pistons Facebook page