Dedmon powers Hawks past Griffin, Pistons

Dewayne Dedmon gave Atlanta the lead with a three-point play and then padded the margin with a 3-pointer, lifting the Hawks to a 118-115 win over Blake Griffin and Detroit Pistons on Sunday.

Dedmon matched his career high with 20 points and had 13 rebounds in his matchup with Andre Drummond, who had 25 points and 15 rebounds for Detroit.

Dennis Schroder had 23 points, including six free throws in the final 20 seconds, for Atlanta.

Dedmon’s three-point play gave Atlanta a 109-107 lead with 1:34 remaining. Following a missed jumper by Jameer Nelson, Dedmon sank a 3-pointer from the corner to push the lead to five points.

Griffin, who had 23 points, answered with a 3-pointer for Detroit. Schroder made two free throws for a 114-110 lead. Griffin’s layup cut the Atlanta lead to two points before Schroder added two more free throws with 9.2 seconds remaining for a 116-112 advantage.

Anthony Tolliver missed a 3-pointer for Detroit before Schroder iced the win with two more free throws. Griffin added a 3 as the final buzzer sounded.

The Pistons have lost two straight after winning five in a row, including four with the newly acquired Griffin.

Drummond was a difficult matchup for Atlanta, consistently drawing fouls near the basket. Drummond made 9 of 13 free throws and was the major reason Hawks rookie John Collins and Dedmon had foul problems. Collins fouled out with 3:25 remaining and Dedmon finished with four fouls.

The Hawks led 49-40 midway through the second period, following back-to-back baskets by Ersan Ilyasova. Detroit closed the half with a 10-2 run — with Reggie Bullock supplying all the points — to lead 56-55 at the break.

Malcolm Delaney’s three-point play gave Atlanta its big lead at 82-73, but the Pistons scored the final seven points of the period to cut the lead to 82-80.

Crosby scores 2, reaches 400 goals in Pens’ 4-1 win

Sidney Crosby got another milestone goal on Sunday. The puck went right to his dad.

Crosby scored twice, including his 400th career goal, and the Pittsburgh Penguins pulled away from the St. Louis Blues for a 4-1 victory.

Bryan Rust snapped a tie with a third-period tally and Riley Sheahan also scored for the Penguins, who have won 12 of their past 17. Matt Murray made 33 saves.

Crosby had not scored in his previous 10 games dating to Jan. 14.

The captain stopped the drought in the second period in front of his father Troy, who was on the two-game fathers’ trip that began Friday in Dallas.

“It’s tough when you’re waiting that long to get it, but it’s definitely worth the wait to have my dad here,” Crosby said. “So many early mornings and sacrifices so I could play hockey. It’s special to have him here.”

Troy Crosby got the puck after the game along with a big hug.

“It’s just so nice to be here,” Troy Crosby said. “To be able to share it with him, there are just no words to describe it.”

Kyle Brodziak scored for St. Louis, which had won two in a row. Jake Allen had 19 stops.

Crosby jammed a shot under Allen’s pad from the side of the net at 3:31, tying it at 1 with his 18th of the season. He becomes the 95th player in NHL history to reach the 400-goal mark.

“I still don’t know how it trickled in, it seemed like it took forever,” Crosby said. “You’re trying to put it in that area, short side. Somehow it kind of found its way in.”

Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan marveled as Crosby’s skills.

“He scores more goals from below the goal line than anybody I’ve ever seen and he’s one of the few guys that thinks the game at such a high level,” Sullivan said. “It was a typical Crosby goal.”

Without Adel, Louisville slams Pitt 94-60

Anas Mahmoud scored 14 points to lead Louisville to a 94-60 win over Pittsburgh.

Mahmoud scored eight of his points in the first half, when he shot 4 of 6 from the floor and the Cardinals opened up a 26-point lead over the hapless Panthers, which fell to 0-13 in Atlantic Coast Conference play.

V.J. King and Malik Wiliams also had 14 points, while Jordan Nwora (13) and Quentin Snider (11) joined them in double figures. Louisville shot 63 percent from the floor and 53 percent from beyond the 3-point line. The Cardinals had 23 assists on 34 field goals, led by Darius Perry’s seven helpers.

Pitt (8-18) was led by freshman Shamiel Stevenson with 15 points. Parker Stewart added 12 and Jared Wilson-Frame 11. The Cardinals (18-8, 8-5) have won 11 straight games in the series. They set the record for Pitt’s largest margin of defeat at home last season by winning by 55 points.

BIG PICTURE

Louisville: The Cardinals played their second straight game without Deng Adel, who is averaging 15.5 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. He has a left ankle sprain. Offensively, Mahmoud has stepped in to fill the void. Averaging just over seven points per game in conference play, he scored 12 points against Georgia Tech last week in the first game Adel missed.

Pitt: The Panthers offensive struggles continue to mount. After scoring just 48 points at Clemson on Thursday, the Panthers followed it up with 60 points on 35 percent shooting against the Cardinals. Pitt has cracked the 60-point mark just four times in conference play.

UP NEXT

Louisville: Will return home to play No. 21 North Carolina on Saturday. The Cardinals are 2-0 against the Tar Heels at the KFC Yum! Center since joining the ACC in 2014. Pitt: Hosts Boston College on Tuesday.