Detroit Pistons beat Atlanta Hawks in overtime, 113-110: Game thread replay
Detroit Pistons (17-47) vs. Atlanta Hawks (31-32)
When: 7 p.m. Monday.
Where: Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
TV: Bally Sports Detroit.
Radio: WXYT-FM (97.1) (Pistons radio affiliates).
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Game notes: If Pistons fans are looking for hope that a rebuild — or "a restoring," if you insist, Troy Weaver — doesn't have to take half a decade, the Hawks are the team to watch. After three straight seasons with fewer than 30 wins, Atlanta zoomed to a 41-31 record, and then to the Eastern Conference Finals, before falling in six games to the eventual champion Milwaukee Bucks last season. Of course, that kind of exponential improvement is helped by hitting on a top-five pick, as the Hawks did with Trae Young in 2018. (Technically, the Hawks had the No. 3 overall pick, which they sent to Dallas for Young at No. 5, with the Mavs getting ... Luka Doncic. Also of note, Sacramento passed on both those stars at No. 2 for Marvin Bagley III — who is already a Piston.)
Of course, exponential improvement doesn't run smooth, as the Hawks are fighting for a spot in the East's play-in tournament, at No. 10 entering Monday. But Young is having another great season, averaging 28 points, 9.3 assists and 3.8 rebounds in 34.6 minutes per game, with 58 appearances and an All-Star nod.
The Hawks are 3-2 since that All-Star break, while the Pistons are 4-2 and coming off back-to-back wins over the Toronto Raptors and Indiana Pacers. Can they make it three in a row? It's three years since the franchise's most recent three-game winning streak, as the Pistons won five straight from March 2-10, 2019 (over the Cavs, Raptors, Timberwolves and twice against the Bulls).
After their game against the Hawks, the Pistons welcome the Bulls to town on Wednesday, while Atlanta heads west across Lake Michigan for a reunion with their ECF foes, the Bucks, also on Wednesday.
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Contact Ryan Ford at rford@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @theford.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons beat Atlanta Hawks in OT, 113-110: Game thread replay
