The Pistons opened their renaissance season with a stirring victory at Atlanta, coming off a 60-win year. Apparently, the Hawks are still mad about it.
“I’ve been here two years and I don’t know if you’ve heard this out of me yet. I’m not saying I was happy with the way we played. But tonight, it was about them,” Stan Van Gundy said. “That’s a very good team that’s really hitting their stride and they played terrific at both ends tonight. That’s the most intense and energetic anybody’s played against us all year.”
The Pistons were razor sharp in running up a 26-point lead and coasting to a win Friday over Charlotte, which had been 17-4 in its preceding 21 games. But just as the Pistons seized control early in that game, so did Atlanta on Saturday. The Hawks took an 11-2 lead in the first five minutes, the Pistons missing their first seven shots.
The Pistons never quit, but the Hawks never trailed. Every Pistons spurt was answered by an even better one from Atlanta, which placed eight players in double figures, got 3-point baskets from seven players and racked up 34 assists on 43 baskets while holding the Pistons under 40 percent shooting.
“They played hard. Did they play last night?” Marcus Morris asked, and yes, the Hawks beat Milwaukee at home. “Didn’t seem like it one bit. They played really hard. That’s a playoff team.”
Twice the Pistons found Anthony Tolliver open at the 3-point line only to have Al Horford appear from nowhere to block his shot. Paul Millsap blocked four – in addition to scoring 23 points, passing for five assists and recording four steals – and the two starting big men make Atlanta’s defense what it is, second in the NBA to San Antonio, for their mobility. They cover the court from sideline to sideline and the rim to the 3-point arc.
“They’re active. Do a great job,” said Reggie Jackson, who had the paint closed to him about as effectively as anyone’s done it all season, holding him to 4 of 12 shooting and 2 of 8 inside the 3-point arc. “Horford made some great recovery plays tonight. They just sit down and play tough.”
The Hawks outscored the Pistons 39-21 from the 3-point line, explaining all of the 112-95 final score. Some of it was tired legs, the Pistons playing their fourth game in six nights, as several of their perimeter shots missed short. But most of it was Atlanta’s active, error-free defense.
“Al Hoford, man, he blocked one of AT’s shots, I felt like he was in the lane,” Morris said of Horford’s closeouts to Tolliver at the 3-point line. “It was just crazy, man. They have their defensive principles and they stick to ’em. They never let anybody on an island. I felt like every time I was in the post, I had two, three guys on me. They’re a playoff team, veteran team, and it showed.”
The silver lining for the Pistons is that Chicago’s skid continued as the Bulls were blown out on the road by an Orlando team missing two starters (Nic Vucevic, Victor Oladipo) and Indiana faltered late to lose at Brooklyn. That leaves the Pistons two games up on the Bulls and 3½ ahead of Washington for the final playoff spot.
The downside is the Pistons have the toughest remaining schedule by a good margin. Both the Bulls and Pacers’ remaining opponents have cumulative records below .500; the Pistons went into Saturday’s play with their nine opponents winning at a .588 clip.
“It’s not going to get easier,” Van Gundy said. “From what I’ve heard, Oklahoma City” – Tuesday’s opponent in the eighth of the Pistons’ nine-game home stand, which sits at 5-2 with both losses to the Hawks – “is pretty good. And I heard they’ve got a couple of good players. It’s going to be more of this and I hope we’ll be ready for it.”