Hawks left flustered by Pistons in return to court following break
The five-day break didn’t seem to do the Hawks any good.
In their return to action since last Saturday, the Hawks received a 142-115 drubbing from the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons.
The Pistons, who had a fully healthy roster for the first time this season, exerted their will. They bumped the Hawks out of their way to create their own space at the rim. They used their physicality to force turnovers and they capitalized on nearly all of them.
Quick stats: Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker led the team in scoring with 22 points.
In what appears to be a regular occurrence these days, forward Jalen Johnson picked up his third straight triple-double with 19 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists.
The Pistons’ bench outscored the Hawks’ second unit 77-32.
Turning point
The Hawks gave themselves a chance at the end of the second quarter, cutting a 15-point Pistons lead to nine heading into halftime.
Then they blew it, allowing the Pistons open the second half on a 10-2 run in the first three minutes. They gave up a four-point play to Pistons wing Duncan Robinson before giving up four more points to Ausar Thompson on a pair of free throws and a running layup. Tobias Harris capped off the Pistons’ early scoring onslaught on a running dunk.
The Pistons just hammered away at the Hawks, baiting them into bad passes and scoring on most possessions.
The Hawks, meanwhile, made just six of their 22 field goal attempts in the third quarter and couldn’t find the bottom of the net from 3. The Pistons outscored the Hawks 35-19.
Highlight play
Whenever the Hawks play the Pistons, they have limited opportunities to score in the paint. The Pistons have two of the league’s top rim protectors in Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart. So the Hawks tried to get creative early with how they scored.
With 1:32 to play in the second quarter, Johnson drove on Thompson. As Thompson corralled Johnson deep in the paint, Duren rotated too close to the rim. So, Johnson kicked a pass along the baseline to Alexander-Walker in the corner.
Pistons guard Cade Cunningham quickly closed out and forced Alexander-Walker off the 3-point line. But the Hawks wing pulled up and kissed a midrange jumper off the glass.
What they said
“We gotta play through contact, and more than anything, if we don’t get stops, we can’t get out on the open floor or fall in a half-court game. They’re attacking the rim, and that becomes an issue for us defensively as much as offensively.” -- Hawks coach Quin Snyder on the physical game via the FanDuel Sports broadcast.
“He’s given us that consistently. I thought he came out aggressively shooting the ball, which we need. If he passes up those shots, they’re tougher to get.” Snyder on Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s leadership.
Up next
The Hawks return home to host the 76ers on Sunday in the second of the two games added to their schedule following elimination from the NBA Cup.
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