 Tracy McGrady scored 24 points in a losing effort for the Magic. Fernando Medina/NBAE/Getty Images from Pistons-Magic: 56k | 300k |
Atkins, who along with Ben Wallace was traded for Hill, finished with 11 points, but his basket from the right side gave Detroit a a 96-94 lead it did not surrender.
With the Magic attempting to seal off the low post by double-teaming Cliff Robinson, the Pistons swung the ball around the perimeter and Jon Barry found Atkins alone in the right corner.
"It feels good," Atkins said. "I had an opportunity to come out here and contribute. We all played well and all hit big shots. That is the thing about this team, everybody steps up and makes plays."
Jerry Stackhouse, Detroit's leading scorer, was sidelined for the third consecutive game with a groin injury, but the Pistons received contributions from several players.
Six players finished in double figures as Detroit shot 12-of-15 in the fourth quarter and 54 percent (38-of-70) in the game.
"Our guys were doing a good job of getting each other shots for most of the game," Pistons coach Rick Carlisle said. "It was just a matter of playing with force at both ends. When we play good defense it sets everything else up. We turned up our defense in the second half and that helped a lot."
"The concern is our defense," Orlando coach Doc Rivers said. "This is a really disappointing loss for us. We got a lot of work to do as a basketball team. Fifty-four percent without Stackhouse is a crime."
Robinson led Detroit in scoring for the fourth time in five games with 30 points on 10-of-19 shooting.
Following Atkins' three-pointer, Orlando had several chances to go-ahead.
Tracy McGrady had a shot blocked by Michael Curry but made three free throws with 21 seconds left to cut Orlando's deficit to 98-97. After Barros made one of two free throws, McGrady missed a driving layup with 12 seconds to go that would have tied the game.
"He made a big time block," Carlisle said of Curry. "We consider him to be our best perimeter defender. He's smart, quick and knowledgeable. He moves well and anticipates well. He was sizing up McGrady well the whole game and made a huge play."
McGrady led the Magic with 24 points but made just 9-of-25 shots and misfired on a potential game-winning shot for the second straight game.
"It was too early, too quick," Rivers said. "We should have let the floor spread a little bit more but we obviously saw an opening and took it."
Curry's two free throws extended the Pistons' lead to 101-97 but Pat Garrity drained a wide open three-pointer that sliced the deficit to a point with four seconds left.
Barros and Robinson added two free throws apiece around a turnover by Garrity and Detroit hung on.
Hill, who inked a seven-year, $93 million contract in August 2000, had 14 points and eight rebounds.
Hill was also taken out of the game with seven minutes to play with a sore foot. He missed Saturday's game against Charlotte Hornets and X-rays taken at the arena were negative.
Hill will be re-evaluated on Tuesday.
"They're going to X-ray it again tomorrow," Rivers said. "His foot is sore. The X-rays they showed today were clean, no break. But there's pain coming from somewhere."
The Magic held an 11-point lead midway through the third quarter, but fell apart defensively as the Pistons made several easy baskets in a 20-7 run that gave them a 71-69 lead with 10:33 remaining.
Orlando has surrendered 100 points 11 times this season and has won just three of those games.
"The bottom line is we have to be a better defensive team," Rivers said. "We've been getting murdered right now, down low in the post by anybody so that's a concern. I thought we had fixed that over the summer but we haven't yet."