Hawks 114, Pistons 103
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Al Horford continued his torrid streak with 23 points and a career-high-tying 22 rebounds, leading the Atlanta Hawks to a 114-103 victory over the Detroit Pistons at The Palace on Monday.
Horford, who was averaging 24.2 points and 10 rebounds over the previous five games, notched his second career 20-20 game as Atlanta (32-23) won for the fifth time in six games. Josh Smith also pumped in 23 points, and Jeff Teague added 20 with 12 assists for the Hawks, who are 2-0 on their six-game road trip.
Atlanta shot 50.6 percent and made 31 assists on 40 baskets.
Rodney Stuckey's 22 points topped Detroit (22-37), which has lost four of five games since the All-Star break. Jonas Jerebko had a season-high 21 points, and Greg Monroe contributed 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Kyle Korver's 3-pointer with 9:23 remaining in the third gave the Hawks a 68-53 lead and prompted Pistons coach Lawrence Frank to call a timeout. He signaled for another one after Horford hit a baseline jumper to make it 74-58.
The breaks failed to stop the onslaught, as Smith made a layup and a 25-foot 3-pointer to extend the Hawks' lead to 24. Atlanta stretched its edge to 26 before Detroit cut it down to 88-70 by the quarter's end.
Detroit never got closer than the final margin.
Horford had 13 points and 13 rebounds by halftime as the Hawks cruised to a 61-51 lead. Horford got plenty of help from Teague, who racked up 14 points and five assists before the break. Stuckey and Monroe kept the Pistons within striking distance by combining for 26 first-half points.
Korver extended his streak of making at least one 3-pointer to 49 games, the longest in Hawks history.
NOTES: Detroit second-year guard Brandon Knight missed his third straight game with a hyperextended right knee. He was injured Wednesday at Charlotte. Backup point guard Will Bynum sat out because of a one-game league suspension for striking Indiana's Tyler Hansbrough in the midsection on Saturday. ... Pistons guard Jose Calderon has a 4.31 assists-to-turnover ratio, ranking him second in the NBA behind the Los Angeles Clippers' Chris Paul (4.36). ... The Pistons rank 15th in the league in both offensive and defensive field-goal percentage. ... Atlanta has assists on 65 percent of its made baskets this season, a league high. ... The Hawks have used 18 different lineups this season and the Pistons have used just five. ... Horford's recent hot streak boosted his season averages to 16.7 points and 9.7 rebounds entering Monday's game. "He's really looking for his shot," Hawks coach Larry Drew said of the center. "He's in a pretty good rhythm right now, and defensively, he's very active. When he's that active on both ends of the floor, he's fun to coach and he's fun to watch."
