Atlanta Hawks Survive Fourth Quarter for Win

A recap of the Atlanta Hawks victory over the Detroit Pistons.

The Atlanta Hawks took on the Pistons Sunday afternoon, the second matchup on the year for the two teams.

Lloyd Pierce and company were looking to win 3 straight for the first time this season, and did so, winning 98-93 in Detroit.

Atlanta got out out to a hot start, riding Vince Carter’s spark off the bench for and early lead. The margin dwindled a bit near the end of 1, start of 2, but the Hawks pulled back even more after that, and were up at the half by 14.

The Hawks were without their stud forward John Collins, and Alex Len filled his starting spot next to fellow center Dewayne Dedmon. Considering the damage Andre Drummond (23 points, 11 boards) did the last time these teams met, the Hawks had to appreciate any help down low they could get from the 7-footer Len.

https://twitter.com/ATLHawks/status/1076970264640942080

After a neck-and-neck third period, the Hawks went cold (to say the least) in the fourth. They had just 6 measly points with 4 minutes left, and their defense did their best to keep their lead.

The offense came alive just in time, but a bad turnover from Jeremy Lin set up Blake Griffin to tie or take the lead at the free throw line. He mercifully missed both, and Lin redeemed himself by making two of his own.

Reggie Jackson flew past Vince for a dunk to cut the lead back to one, and after Lin drained two more clutch free throws, the Pistons missed a lay-in, and Bazemore grabbed the game-winning rebound. two garbage-time confidence boosters from Griffin at the line made it 98-95 final.

The win is the 9th on the season for the Atlanta Hawks, and they are suddenly looking like a much better team. Vince Carter lead the Hawks with 18, including a clutch fadeaway late in the 4th, and Alex Len posted a double-double with 15 points and an eye-popping 17 rebounds.

As a whole the Hawks out-rebounded the Pistons 54-41, including 15 offensive rebounds, of which Alex Len had 8 of.

All in all a good team win for the Atlanta Hawks’ last game before Christmas, and their three straight wins is a nice gift for fans not in all-out tank mode.

Box Score Notes

• Dewayne Dedmon fouled out for the second straight game. Entering today’s game he was averaging over 3 fouls a game.
• 6 turnovers and 12 points on 14 shots isn’t great, but Trae Young partially made up for it with 6 assists and a career-high 7 rebounds.
• Alex Poythress, who has been dealing with an ankle injury, played for the first time since November 17th.

That’s it for this one. The Atlanta Hawks will look to make it 4 in a row on the 26th when the Pacers come to town.