'Great night': Pistons thump Hawks, climb above .500
Atlanta — With the way the Pistons started the season on the road, getting only one win in their first nine games away from The Palace, getting a single win in their three-game eastern trip seemed unlikely.
Winning all three was highly improbable.
Improbable but not impossible.
The Pistons completed their three-game gauntlet with a flourish, jumping out to a 19-point halftime lead and cruising to a 121-85 romp over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night at Philips Arena.
BOX SCORE: Pistons 121, Hawks 85
“You never see that coming against a really good team like that,” Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said. “We just had a great night.”
It’s the fifth win in the last six games for the Pistons (11-10), putting them back above .500 for the first time since Nov. 14.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope continued his scorching scoring stretch, with 23 points, including 5-of-8 on 3-pointers, and Andre Drummond added 14 points and 14 rebounds. Eight players scored in double figures and the starters were able to rest in the fourth quarter with the margin out of hand.
The Pistons are streaking at the right time, with point guard Reggie Jackson nearing a return from a knee injury after missing the start of the season. He hasn’t ruled out returning for Sunday’s game against the Orlando Magic at The Palace.
In his place, Ish Smith had another stellar game, with 11 points, five assists and a season-high 13 assists with just one turnover.
“His tempo is just incredible. He has such a great motor … and he’s scoring the ball when he needs to,” Van Gundy said. “He couldn’t play much better than he did tonight, but he’s played like that for quite a while here.”
The plummeting Hawks (10-10), who lost their eighth in the last nine games, played without All-Star forward Paul Millsap. They struggled offensively through the first half, shooting only 33 percent, and fell behind, 58-39, at halftime.
The Pistons’ calling card on the trip has been their improved defense and getting shots to fall — and it continued Friday. They tied a franchise record with 17 3-pointers and for the third straight game, set or matched their season high for points.
“Detroit did everything well tonight,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “There were times in the second half where at least there was some progress and better ball movement. Overall, Detroit was better than us in every way.”
Caldwell-Pope got things started in the first three minutes, with a pair of 3-pointers, following a hook by Drummond, for an 8-0 lead. Tobias Harris (18 points) also connected from beyond the arc for an 11-2 advantage, but the Hawks answered with a 15-4 flurry behind five points from Kent Bazemore and a 3-pointer from Thabo Sefolosha.
Caldwell-Pope came back with an answer, hitting his third 3-pointer and following with another jumper, to rerestore the lead, 20-16. That ignited a 12-2 spurt that put the Pistons up by nine, but the Hawks answered with a quick six points to trim the lead to 27-24 after the first quarter.
“I’m very confident. I’m out here just playing my game and controlling the things I can control,” Caldwell-Pope said. “Some night I’m not going to shoot that well. But I can get in on the defensive end and try to get myself going.”
Beno Udrih (11 points) provided a spark with seven straight Pistons points to open the period but they pulled away a minute later, with a decisive 20-2 run, spurred by Drummond.
Drummond started the streak with a lay-up on a pass from Darrun Hilliard and after jumpers by Udrih, Hilliard and Caldwell-Pope, Harris hit a turnaround jumper and Drummond had a lay-in and split a pair of free throws.
The Pistons finished the run with a hook by Drummond, another 3-pointer by Caldwell-Pope and a dunk by Drummond, for a 58-34 lead with 2:01 remaining.
Tim Hardaway Jr. (Michigan) scored on a drive and Taurean Prince added a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 19 at halftime, but by then, the Hawks’ enthusiasm — and the fans’ at Philips Arena — was waning.
The Hawks looked to make a run in the third quarter, but Marcus Morris scored all 12 of his points in the period and Jon Leuer (16 points, eight rebounds) had seven straight points, including a 3-pointer, a three-point play and a free throw, to make it a 31-point bulge.
The surge after halftime pleased Van Gundy, who didn’t want to see his team get complacent after building the big lead, especially when Budenholzer stayed with his reserves to start the third quarter.
“I was (pleased) because a lot of times you let up and (Budenholzer) started his bench and you worry about how your team is going to approach that,” Van Gundy said. “I was happy with the way we handled it.”
Smith continued his balanced play with a spinning lay-in, a 3-pointer and a driving basket in the final minutes of the period for a 90-57 lead after three quarters.
The Hawks never threatened the rest of the way, as the Pistons didn’t let the lead get under 24 in the fourth quarter.
Rod.Beard@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @detnewsRodBeard