Joe Johnson pounds 30 as Atlanta Hawks squeak past Detroit Pistons 107-101 - NBA Recap
Those who gathered at the Palace of Auburn Hills on Friday night witnessed a classic encounter between two very talented teams, Atlanta Hawks and Detroit Pistons.
It was a mouth watering contest and kept the crowd on the edge of their seats throughout. In the end, Hawks proved to be a better team and won the game 107-101.
Pistons dominated the entire first half and were in a commanding position at the end of the half, ahead by 11 points 46-35. The Hawks pulled it back significantly in the third quarter but the Pistons still held the upper hand by the end of the quarter, ahead
by 68-63.
Hawks started the deciding frame in an excellent manner, with a 7-2 run that got them neck to neck with Pistons at 70 all. However they failed to take advantage of the situation and allowed Pistons to rattle an 8-0 run that let them off the hook.
Pistons were seemingly heading to a win, ahead by 4 points 87-91 with almost 30 seconds remaining in the game. They were though in for an unpleasant surprise as, first Marvin Williams drilled a 3 and then, Joe Johnson, with less than 2 seconds remaining,
pounded one from outside the arc to send the game to O.T.
The Hawks sealed the game by starting O.T with a 12-2 run, capped by Josh Smith’s three. The Pistons failed to make any comeback in the remaining 1 and a half minute and Atlanta thus won the enthralling contest.
"To me it's just an unbelievable win," Atlanta coach Larry Drew said. "It was a gutsy performance. We were literally dead in the water."
His counterpart, Lawrence Frank, was extremely disappointed with the final outcome of the game as his team had been in the ascendency for quite a while.
"We kicked that game. We should have won the game, but we didn't make winning plays down the stretch," Frank said. "I think we were defeated as soon as that shot went in, and the game went to overtime. We have to be mentally tougher than that."
Joe Johnson was outstanding and paced the Hawks with a game high 30 points on 11 for 23 from the floor. Marvin had 22 points and 8 boards while Josh completed yet another double-double with 19 points and 11 boards. Zaza Pachulia pounded 16 points.
Greg Monroe led the Pistons with 22 points and 11 boards while Brandon Knight had 20 points on 4-for-8 from the long range. Jason Maxiell netted 19 points whereas Rodney Stuckey accumulated 14. Jonas Jerebko and Austin Daye both finished with 12 points.
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