The Hawks did not bring their "A" game to Auburn hills tonight, and looked certain to go down to the heavily injured, low-scoring Pistons after a decrepit first half.
In surprising fashion, the Hawks rallied from an 11-point halftime lead to tie the game and knock off the Pistons in Detroit by the score of 107-101.
Joe Johnson led the hawks with 30 points - 28 of them coming in the second half. After starting just 1-for-9, Johnson caught fire in the second half despite injuring two of his fingers right before a game-tying three poin shot with two seconds left in regulation.
Josh Smith put in another huge game, coming just two assists shy of a triple-double. He finished with a 19/11/8 and also blocked three shots. Marvin Williams finished with 22 points, while Zaza Pachulia just missed a double-double with a 16/9 performance.
Point guard Jeff Teague left the game in the second quarter with an ankle injury, which allowed Kirk hinrich to get his first significant minutes of the year. After playing only seven minutes Wednesday against San Antonio, Hinrich logged 32 minutes to finish with five points, but nine assists to tie him with Smith for the team lead.
The lowly Pistons were without several key players, but had Atlanta on the ropes for most of the game. Their poor shooting in the second half let the Hawks get back into it, and by the time overtime started the Pistons looked wiped. When the Hawks ripped off a 12-2 run to start the extra period, it was over. To date, the Pistons are 30th in the NBA in points per game and rebounds per game, and 27th in assists per game.
Center Greg Monroe led the Pistons with 22 points and 11 rebounds, while Brandon Knight added 20 more points. The Pistons ended up shooting only 41% for the game, while the Hawks shot a decent 49% when all was said and done.
The Hawks will head far south next to face the New Orleans Hornets, before wrapping up their five-game road trip on Tuesday in Toronto. The Pistons started off a tough stretch tonight of seven games in nine days.
With the win, the Hawks moved to 14-6, just a half-game behind the Miami Heat. They currently sport the third-best record in the Eastern Conference, as they have now gone 11-0 against teams with a sub-.500 record.
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