AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — At the start there was little sign of physical problems for Hawks guard Joe Johnson, and nothing about the way teammate Josh Smith played suggested he’s distracted.
Johnson, back in the lineup Friday night after a knee injury sidelined him, pulled up for his familiar silky jump shot. Smith, the subject of trade rumors, powered the basket and ran the floor for scores.
Things looked normal for the Hawks’ co-captains, who sparked a late rally before the Pistons hung on for an 86-85 victory.
The Hawks (23-17) dropped to 1-2 on a six-game trip that continues Sunday in Sacramento and finishes with back-to-back games against Denver and the Clippers Tuesday and Wednesday. The Hawks overcame a an eight-point deficit in the final five minutes against Detroit, but couldn’t finish.
The Hawks’ 11-2 run included a three-point play and driving score by Johnson, a 3-pointer and free throw by Smith, and Jeff Teague’s steal and layup for an 85-84 lead with 36.6 seconds left. Detroit’s Tayshaun Prince scored on a hook shot to set up the final sequence.
Johnson, who had forced overtime with a 3-pointer in a Hawks victory here in January, set up on the left side. He passed to Teague before getting the ball back and missing a long jumper under pressure.
Smith rebounded the miss and scored a basket, but officials ruled that it came after the buzzer. The call stood after a replay review.
The Hawks led the Pistons 50-41 at halftime and 56-49 with seven minutes left in the third quarter. But the Pistons took control as the Hawks managed to score only six points the rest of the period, and Smith sat most of the quarter because of foul trouble.
The Pistons led 67-62 entering the fourth quarter and quickly ran to an 73-62 advantage while the Hawks went more than 13 minutes with scoring a field goal.
Detroit (14-26 entering Friday) is last in the Central Division, but had won nine of 15 since a 4-20 start. They defeated the Lakers 88-85 at home Tuesday and also owned two recent victories against Boston.
Those results are why coach Larry Drew said he wasn’t concerned about his team relaxing against the Pistons after playing an intense game Wednesday at reigning Eastern Conference champion Miami.
“They have been playing well,” Hawks coach Larry Drew said before the game. “They are coming off a big win against the Lakers, which they have to be feeling good about. It’s always a physical game when we play this team. That’s one thing we have emphasized with our players. This may be the most physical games of this road trip and that’s the mindset you have to have going into this game.”
The Pistons gave the Hawks a tough test last time they were in Detroit. Atlanta needed a big game from Johnson, who scored 28 of his 30 points after halftime, for a 107-101 overtime victory Jan. 4.
That was back when Johnson was regularly putting up big scoring nights for the Hawks, but problems with the knee eventually slowed him. He had missed six of the past seven games because of tendinitis in his left knee and said before the game the knee still isn’t quite as strong as he’d like.
“But from the last time I tried to play, [it’s] 10 times better than that,” Johnson said.
In that game, Atlanta’s Feb. 29 loss to Golden State, Johnson labored on the knee despite resting for eight days before playing. He sat out the last four games while trying to get the knee right.
Johnson looked sharper this time, especially while making his first three field-goal attempts. He made a mid-range jumper, buried a 26-foot 3-pointer for a 15-5 Hawks lead and later dropped in one of his patented floaters.
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