Hawks steal overtime victory at Detroit
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — All signs suggested the Pistons should have been pushovers for the Hawks.
Detroit is near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings while the Hawks are near the top. The Pistons are among the worst offensive teams in the NBA, are even worse on defense and their once-intimidating home building lacks life because of all the losing.
But lately at The Palace, the Pistons seem to drag the Hawks down to their level. It happened again Friday night until the Hawks recovered for an improbable 107-101 overtime victory over Detroit.
"It's an unbelievable win," Hawks coach Larry Drew said. "It was just a gutsy performance. We were dead in the water, I thought."
The Hawks overcame a six-point deficit in the final 39.9 seconds to force overtime and dominated Detroit in the extra period for their third victory in their past four games. The Hawks improved to 2-1 on a five-game road trip that continues Sunday in New Orleans.
The Hawks looked sloppy and sleepy until playing with urgency in the second half. They trailed 46-35 at halftime, twice pulled within three points in the third quarter and tied the score 70-70 early in the final period.
Austin Daye’s basket gave Detroit an 87-81 lead with 39.9 seconds to play, but Hawks forward Marvin Williams quickly answered with a 3-pointer. The Pistons tried to run off some clock before shooting, but Joe Johnson stole the ball from Rodney Stuckey and then made a fading 3-pointer to tie the score with 1.9 seconds to go in regulation.
"After that shot, that was it," Hawks center Zaza Pachulia said. "I don't think we looked back."
The Hawks finished Detroit by opening overtime with a 12-2 run capped by 3-pointers from Williams and Josh Smith. Atlanta's 20 points in overtime tied a franchise record set on April 2, 2008, vs. Toronto.
Johnson shook off a 1-for-9 start from the field to score 28 of his game-high 30 points after halftime.
"I just wanted to be aggressive," Johnson said. "It was do or die. We had to put up or shut up. Guys came out and made big plays and gave ourselves a chance in overtime. I just wanted to validate that and be aggressive and make plays not only for myself but [also] my teammates."
Williams scored 22 points for Atlanta while making five of six 3-point attempts, and Smith added 10 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.Pachulia scored six points in overtime on 3-for-3 shooting.
The Hawks should have known the Pistons might be trouble. They lost here once last season, when Detroit was equally awful, and had a tough time in a victory.
Detroit lost 101-98 to Miami on Wednesday for its seventh defeat in eight games. The Pistons pushed the Hawks, too, before finally succumbing.
After Smith’s two free throws tied the score at 70-70, the Pistons responded with an 8-0 run. When the Hawks cut the lead down to 82-79 on Kirk Hinrich’s 3-pointer, Detroit kept attacking the basket to earn free throws and pushed the lead back to 85-83.
Williams and Daye traded baskets, leading to Johnson’s steal and big 3-pointer. The Hawks finished strong after a bad start that included season-lows of 15 points in the first quarter and 35 points at halftime.
"I wish it could be a little earlier," Smith said. "I would rather have the lead than try to claw back into it and do it the way we did it. But a win is a win. I'll take it."
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