AUBURN HILLS -- The first thing to know about Detroit Pistons point guard Will Bynum is that he doesn't lack confidence. Put him with a center who never lived in an English-speaking country before and he turns translator. Put him with a point guard who could send him packing for another team this summer and all he wants to do is play alongside the guy.

The Pistons went into NBA All-Star break with a 96-85 win Wednesday over the Washington Wizards and their backup point guard, now challenged by the newcomer Jose Calderon's incredible acumen at the position, was instrumental in taking over his position down the stretch, with Calderon moving to shooting guard.

It didn't seem strange to Bynum, who after 13 lead changes and the last of 13 ties scored the next six points, then kicked to Calderon for a corner 3-pointer to make it 85-76, as the Pistons seized control in the final five minutes.

"It's kind of what the league is doing right now," Bynum said of closing the game alongside Calderon. "It creates matchup problems for the other team."

As for the prospect of having a newcomer at his position who earns an eight-figure salary, Bynum, a free agent after this season, said that doesn't enter his thinking.

"I'm never concerned about any competition or anything like that," he said. "I invite that. It's been here since I've been here. Never complained. I'm going to get after it every day and make him better and better every single day."

And take away his security blanket -- the pick-and-roll lob for an Andre Drummond dunk, which had become the Pistons' signature offensive play this season until the rookie center was injured last week -- and Bynum simply sets about establishing some of the same chemistry with the next 7-footer who comes along.

That happened to be Slava Kravtsov, the Ukraine rookie whose 13 minutes were a career-high, and who stuffed a Bynum lob to make it 76-70 before the Wizards scored the next six points to forge the game's last tie.

"Slava's great, man. He's been working hard every day. I've been talking to him in the Ukrainian language, about the lob, trying to get him to be the new Andre Drummond while he (Drummond) is out," said Bynum, who had 20 points and eight assists, including 12 and five, respectively, in the fourth quarter.

Kravtsov had four points on two shots, both dunks. His one rebound won't suffice long-term, but his post defense was "instrumental," head coach Lawrence Frank said, and he helped ease the playing crunch facing Greg Monroe, who had his eighth consecutive double-double by halftime and finished with 16 points and 18 rebounds.

The Wizards, after making two free throws on their first possession of the fourth quarter, were 0 of 5 with four turnovers on their next nine possessions and went 5:41 before they scored again.

"I thought his energy, his effort, I loved his confidence in there, his approach," Frank said. "I felt really good with him in the game, just his post defense, his ability to hold his ground -- we saw it against Brook Lopez, against Brooklyn -- against those bigger, stronger guys."

Kyle Singler, who continued his solid play since shifting to small forward with 12 points and seven rebounds in a game-high 38 minutes, said the entire team was energized by the fourth-quarter defense, the guard mix, Charlie Villanueva's long-range shooting -- particularly a key four-point play to give the Pistons their first lead of the second half, 71-70 -- and Kravtsov.

"Guys get excited when we see Slava do things well because he practices great and for him to get a chance to play in the game is terrific," Singler said. "He's a big physical guy that can play minutes for us. It's great to see and I can see him doing it for as long as Andre's out."

The Pistons (21-33) beat the Wizards for the third time but it was a much more competitive game than the first two with point guard John Wall back from injury and center Nene no longer playing under a minutes restriction like he did in the December meetings.

The Wizards (15-36) did manage to turn Calderon into a shooter and he responded with a season-high 24 points and an uncharacteristic four turnovers and only three assists.

But they couldn't stop either of the Pistons' point guards when it mattered most, compounded by a decision not to play Emeka Okafor in the fourth quarter.

Wizards coach Randy Wittman acknowledged he probably should have used Okafor, who led his team with 20 points and nine rebounds, late in the game.

How that could have affected the Pistons' perimeter playpen in the fourth quarter is a separate question.

"We did not have an answer for Calderon or Bynum in the fourth quarter," Wittman said. "They kind of did what they wanted to do."

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