Pistons break four-game losing streak by trouncing Hawks, 103-80
Charlie Villanueva and Tracy McGrady combined for 39 points and 17 rebounds, as the Detroit Pistons snapped a four-game losing streak with a 103-80 victory over the visiting
Atlanta Hawks.
Richard Hamilton registered a team-high 24 points, and Charlie Villanueva posted 23 points and 11 rebounds for Pistons.
Josh Smith meanwhile had a game-high 26 points for the Hawks in their just third defeat in 11 games. Al Horford added 17 points and 12 rebounds, while Mike Bibby provided
14 points in the defeat.
Game Flow
If anybody thought that the Pistons were going to rock the home crowd after losing four in a row, then those people were absolutely right.
McGrady hit four three-pointers in a dominant fourth quarter, leading the Detroit Pistons in handing the visiting team their tenth defeat of the season.
The only drama in the second half was that after letting a 25-point lead slip in the second-half against the Toronto Raptors in their previous game, the Pistons never
trailed and put the game away with a 39-point fourth quarter.
“We know we are a much better team than our record shows. We were desperate to get a win tonight after what we did against Toronto,” Detroit’s Power forward Villanueva
said.
Detroit dominated the first half and held a 28-19 lead after the first quarter. They further extended their lead to 12 points at halftime, 49-37.
The Atlanta Hawks were back on track and opened the third with an 11-0 surge, cutting the deficit to a single point on Marvin Williams' three-pointer. With over five minutes
to go in the third quarter, Detroit responded with a 9-2 burst to push their lead back to eight at 58-50.
Four minutes later, baskets by Bibby and Smith in the last minute of the third quarter made it a three-point game at 64-61.
Although Detroit entered the fourth quarter with a three-point lead, it was the Pistons who went ahead by double figures on Tracy McGrady's three-pointer, which made it
74-63 with eight minutes to play.
The Pistons dominated the fourth quarter by scoring 20 points and limiting the Hawks to just 19 -- en route to the easy win.
While talking about Detroit’s big fourth quarter game, Atlanta’s guard Bibby said, "It was tough and got out of hand quickly. They hit like three or four three’s in a
row. It was just a rampage of three’s that we couldn't stop."
With a poor NBA record of eighteen defeats in the season, the Pistons received Hawks at their home ground and prevented them from clinching their 16th win of the season.
However Hawks coach Larry Drew, embraced the Piston's win with an open heart, "You've got to give Detroit credit; they made shots," "Defensively, we didn't play with a sense of urgency...We fell apart in the fourth quarter."
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