The Hawks hit a new low.
As in bench the starters low.
Mike Budenholzer had seen enough with the Hawks trailing the Pistons by 24 points with 2:01 left in the second quarter. He subbed out all five starters with Malcolm Delaney, Tim Hardaway Jr., Taurean Prince, Mike Muscala and Kris Humphries. That group also started the second half as well as Budenholzer elected to keep his struggling first unit on the bench.
The Hawks still lost. Big.
The Pistons led by as many as 37 points on their way to a 121-85 victory over the reeling Hawks. The Hawks (10-10) are now a .500 team after starting the season 9-2. They have lost five straight and eight of their last nine games.
The Pistons broke open the game with a 20-2 run in the second quarter as they took a 58-34 lead. The Hawks were 1 of 13, including 11 straight misses to start, and had three turnovers in the decisive stretch. The Pistons outscored the Hawks 29-15 in the second quarter as they shot 67 percent (14 of 21) from the floor. The Hawks, by stark contrast, shot 21 percent (4 of 19).
The Hawks played without leading scorer Paul Millsap (sore left hip) for the second straight game. They will do so again Saturday at the Raptors.
Dennis Schroder led the Hawks with 17 points, after having just two points at halftime, and 11 assists. The Hawks starters combined for 38 points with Kyle Korver and Kent Bazemore scoring seven, Thabo Sefolosha scoring five and Dwight Howard scoring just two points. Muscala (11 points), Hardaway (11) and Humphries (10) were the other leading scorers
The Pistons (11-10) were led by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope with a game-high 23 points. He led seven double-digit scorers which included Andre Drummond with a double-double of 14 points and 14 rebounds.
