It was there for the taking. And the Hawks let it slip away.
The Hawks failed to hold a double-digit second-half lead in a 115-107 loss to the Pistons Friday night at the Palace of Auburn Hills. It was the eighth straight defeat for the struggling Hawks.
The Hawks (25-29) are now eighth in the Eastern Conference, percentage points behind the Bobcats for the final playoff spot. They were third in the East when the losing streak began. The last time the Hawks lost eight straight was between Dec. 16, 2006 and Jan. 5, 2007.
Paul Millsap led the Hawks with 23 points and eight rebounds. Shelvin Mack scored a career-high 21 points filling in for the injured Jeff Teague. Mike Scott added 20 points and Lou Williams had 15 points. Kyle Korver extended his NBA-record streak to 123 games with a 3-pointer.
The Hawks went to the Hack-A-Drummond strategy with 4:20 left in the game. Down 102-98, they fouled center Andre Drummond on two consecutive trips. He missed all four attempts, and was 0-for-8 for the game, and the Hawks pulled to within two points on a Scott basket. The Pistons took him out of the game for the final 3:30. Another Scott basket tied the game at 102-102.
After a Greg Monroe put-back game the Pistons the lead again. Millsap made two free throws with 2:38 remaining for another deadlock.
Kyle Singler hit a 3-pointer with 1:55 left for a 107-104 Pistons lead. After a Scott miss at the shot-clock buzzer, and a Mack miss of the rebound, Will Bynum completed a three-point play for a six-point lead with 1:06 left. After two Millsap free throws, Singler hit another corner 3-pointer with 30.1 seconds left for a 113-106 advantage.
Game over.
The Pistons (23-32) snapped a three-game losing streak, overall and to the Hawks.
Greg Monroe led the Pistons with 22 points. Former Hawk Josh Smith had 17 points. He had a total of 11 points in the two previous games between the teams this season.
The Pistons erased a 13-point second-quarter deficit with a big third quarter. They outscored the Hawks 34-20 in the period. They erased the deficit when Brandon Jennings scored 12 of 14 Pistons’ points for an 82-79 advantage. They took an 86-83 lead into the final quarter.
The Hawks led by the 13 points in the first half. They took a 63-52 lead into halftime with a white-hot second quarter. The Hawks scored 41 points in the period on 17 of 20 (85 percent) shooting. At one point they made 17 of 18 shots, including 13 straight. It was the second-best field-goal percentage by any team in a quarter this season. The Nuggets were 13 of 15 (86.7 percent) in the fourth quarter of a Dec. 1 game against the Raptors. The 13 straight field goals tied the season high by any team. The Mavericks also made 13 straight Nov. 20 against the Rockets.
Scott had the first 10 points of the second quarter and Williams added eight points, including a steal and emphatic break-away dunk. The Hawks bench – of just Williams, Scott and Cartier Martin combined for 27 points on 11-of-15 shooting in the first half.
Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer insisted his team was sticking together despite the losing streak.
“They are not happy,” he said before the game. “ I don’t want to mis-portray that. There is a spirit that is still alive and well and good. They come in and work. They are trying to find ways to improve and get better and find success.”
The Hawks host the Knicks Saturday, their fourth game in five days.
