There were less than four seconds remaining on the clock and, for most NBA teams, that means setting up a play for an open jump shot.
The Hawks have Jeff Teague, so they had something else in mind.
The speedy point guard got the ball at midcourt, left Pistons guard Rodney Stuckey in his wake and slipped past Brandon Knight for a layup just before the halftime buzzer. Knight stood with his arms in the air for a few seconds, seemingly perplexed by how Teague scored so quickly.
That’s how it went for most of Friday night for the Pistons, who couldn’t handle Teague’s speed during a 101-96 loss to the Hawks.
Teague tied a career high with 24 points and added 11 assists. All but three of his points came on drives to the basket or free throws.
Teague’s effort helped the Hawks (34-21) keep pace with Indiana in the Eastern Conference standings. The Pacers (34-21) beat the Thunder on Friday to remain 2 1/2 games ahead of the Hawks in third place.
Most times Teague is the fastest player on the court, though he doesn’t always play like it. He left no doubt about it against the Pistons, and his aggressive play had the Hawks playing faster as a team.
The Pistons trailed 26-20 after the first quarter, but gained a 38-32 lead behind an 18-8 run with their reserves. Drew sent his starters back in, and Teague immediately went back on the attack.
Teague scored three consecutive field goals and then tossed an alley-oop pass to Josh Smith for a dunk and 40-38 Hawks lead. Now energized, the Hawks closed the half with a 9-0 spurt capped by Teague’s score at the buzzer.
The Hawks couldn’t bury the Pistons, though, because they stopped taking care of the ball and couldn’t stop Stuckey. In the third quarter Detroit scored 10 points off six Hawks turnovers and Stuckey scored seven points.
Stuckey scored five consecutive points to open the final quarter as part of a 14-2 Detroit run that staked the Pistons to an 83-80 lead. The Hawks responded with three consecutive baskets by Smith, the last a dunk on a lob pass from Teague.
Marvin Williams and Teague scored back-to-back baskets to complete the 10-2 burst for a 90-85 Hawks lead. Ivan Johnson dunked on a feed from Teague for a 94-89 lead, and Detroit never got the lead below five until Stuckey’s 3-pointer with 3.1 seconds left made it 99-96.
It probably didn’t take much for Hawks coach Larry Drew to convince his team the Pistons were a real threat. Detroit had posted a 17-13 record since a 4-20 start with victories against the Celtics (twice), Lakers and Magic.
Moreover, the Pistons defeated the Hawks on March 9 and Atlanta needed a dramatic 3-point shot by Joe Johnson to win at Detroit on Jan. 27.
“They’ve been very competitive,” Drew said before the game. “I’ve always thought they were better than what their record indicated.”
Detroit hurt Atlanta in the first two meetings with rebounding and center Greg Monroe’s efficient scoring. This time the Hawks enjoyed a 42-38 rebounding advantage and held Monroe in check.
But Detroit’s bench players gave the Hawks trouble. They combined to score 25 points in the first half, led by nine from Georgia Tech product Will Bynum.
Stuckey finished with 27 points and Bynum 15 as Detroit’s reserves outscored their Hawks counterparts 57-32.
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