The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hawks can't finish rally from 19 points down
Defense allows at least 110 points for sixth straight game.
It has been over a decade since the Detroit Pistons started a season like this, and the question now is how they will handle their early success.
Coach Stan Van Gundy has concerns, but even a poor second half couldn’t keep Detroit from another victory.
Andre Drummond had 16 points, 20 rebounds and a career-high seven assists, and Reggie Jackson made a pair of 3-pointers in the final minute to lift the Pistons to a 111-104 victory over the Hawks on Friday night. Detroit let a 19-point second-quarter lead slip away but recovered in time to earn its seventh win in eight games.
“I don’t want to sit here and just beat up on my guys to death, but I’m answering questions about the game. I can’t sugarcoat the second half,” Van Gundy said. “We totally got outplayed in the second half.”
The Central Division-lead- ing Pistons (9-3) are off to their best start since 2005-06, when they went 10-2 to begin the season and ended up winning 64 games. Detroit outscored Atlanta 31-19 in the second quarter and led 57-41 at halftime but couldn’t shake the Hawks. Atlanta rallied and finally tied it at 94 when Kent Bazemore made back-to-back 3-pointers.
It was tight the rest of the way, and Jackson’s 3-pointer with 52.5 seconds remaining put the Pistons up 103-100. He connected again from beyond the arc with 21.3 sec- onds left to make it 107-100. Dennis Schroder had 17 points and 11 assists for Atlanta, which fell to 2-10, worst in the East.
“We’ve just got to smarten up,” Bazemore said. “They are a team t hat’s been together for a while and they made some huge plays down the stretch and you’ve got to give them credit.”
The Hawks allowed at least 110 points for the sixth straight game. It looked as if they might end the streak when they held Detroit to 19 in the third quarter, but the Pistons had 35 in the fourth. “Hopefully we can build on the second half, the way we played,” coach Mike Budenholzer said. “It’s really how we need to play for the whole game. Not good enough in the first half and dug ourselves a hole.”
Noteworthy: Drummond has had at least 12 rebounds in each of his first 12 games this season, matching Kevin Love’s streak to start the 201112 season. The last player with a longer streak to start a season was Moses Malone with 16 games in 1978-79.