Hawks escape Detroit, down East-leading Pistons in overtime

DETROIT — The Hawks escaped the Motor City, needing a little extra time to put the Pistons away 130-129 in overtime Wednesday at Little Caesars Arena.

With a one-point lead, the Hawks (41-32) had a couple of fouls to give with eight seconds to play in OT. So, the Hawks fouled guard Daniss Jenkins, who started in place of the injured Cade Cunningham, as Jenkins tried to set up a play, leaving the Pistons (52-20) with a little over four seconds to play.

They ran out the clock, forcing Pistons forward Tobias Harris to take a midrange jumper that didn’t fall. Though Jalen Duren secured the offensive board, his second-chance shot hung on the rim before rolling off.

Quick stats: The Hawks had three players finish with 20 or more points. Jalen Johnson had 27 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists. After his fourth-quarter takeover, CJ McCollum finished 27 points and five rebounds. Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 21 points. Dyson Daniels finished with 16 points and a career-high 13 rebounds.

Key moment

McCollum took over in his final stint of the game. He checked in with 4:49 to play in the game, and one minute later, he drained a 3. McCollum sank another, putting the shot up with just tenths of a second on the shot clock. He then made a midrange jumper over Jenkins to put the Hawks up 118-116 with 1:35 in the fourth quarter.

McCollum ended up with 11 points in the fourth quarter and gave the Hawks a chance to come away with the game in regulation.

Highlight play

The Hawks needed a big swing as the Pistons erased their 18-point lead, tying the game at 78, then taking an 80-78 lead on a fast-break layup from Ausar Thompson.

The Pistons never let up but the Hawks adjusted, eventually rolling out a lineup that included Alexander-Walker, Gabe Vincent, Corey Kispert, Jonathan Kuminga and Mouhamed Gueye.

The Hawks found enough defense to string together stops that allowed Alexander-Walker to fire off five straight points. It gave the Hawks a 98-93 advantage with three seconds to play in the third quarter.

What they said

“It’s just about trusting the work, trusting the preparation, working on my craft. I’ve been in so many moments where things haven’t gone my way you’re just comfortable with failure and success equally. I tried to just do what was needed tonight.” — McCollum on his heater in the fourth quarter.

“We talked about how they were going to raise their level. We didn’t cave, but we didn’t play well, certainly. The biggest thing is we weren’t getting stops. We weren’t offensive rebounding, and we got stagnant offensively. When that happens, we turn the ball over. It’s kind of the things we talked about [pregame], it’s just we didn’t do it for that stretch. Sometimes when a team’s scoring knocks you back (it causes us) to lose our aggressiveness. That’s really the sum of it.” — Hawks coach Quin Snyder on the Pistons’ third-quarter run.

“A good thing, at least with me tonight, is they were letting us fight and kind of wrestle it out on the on the boards, so I knew that early on in the game. So to be honest with you, it’s kind of hit him early, and be really on your toes when it comes to rebounding.” — Jock Landale on battling Duren with Onyeka Okongwu in foul trouble.

“We’ve had to do that all year. Just continue to dig in on that end. And we got to stop, stop when it matter most. So, that was good.” — Johnson on the Hawks locking down and getting stops.

Up next

The Hawks head to Boston, where they face the Celtics before returning home to host the Kings on Saturday.

Standings watch

The Hawks, once again, tied the Raptors after their win. But the Raptors did not play their matchup against the Clippers until 10:30 p.m. So, the Hawks will have to wait for the results of Wednesday’s game to see if their efforts bumped them to the fifth seed.

The win also means that the Hawks, at a minimum, make the Play-In Tournament. Plus, with just nine games remaining in the regular season, the Hawks will finish with a .500 or better record.