Isaiah Stewart amassed 17 points, five rebounds and five assists to lead a balanced attack as the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons overwhelmed the visiting Atlanta Hawks, 142-115, on Friday night.
Detroit, which has won five of its last six games, recorded its third victory over the Hawks in the past month.
Eight Pistons recorded double figures in scoring and two others tallied nine points. Cade Cunningham and Duncan Robinson contributed 15 points apiece, while Jalen Duren supplied 14 points and seven rebounds.
Ronald Holland and Ausar Thompson added 12 points apiece, while Caris LeVert chipped in 10 points with eight assists. The Pistons shot 58.2% from the field.
Cunningham added six assists and 11 of 13 Pistons hit 50% or better from the field.
Atlanta’s Nickeil Alexander-Walker led all scorers with 22 points. Jalen Johnson recorded a triple-double with 19 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists. Dyson Daniels added 18 points with 10 rebounds and five assists.
The Hawks have dropped four of their last five games.
The Pistons led by as many as 15 points in the first half before settling for a 69-60 halftime advantage.
Detroit’s reserves produced 31 of its first-half points. Both teams shot more than 50% during the half but the Pistons committed just five turnovers while the Hawks had 12, which Detroit turned into 13 points.
Detroit outscored Atlanta 35-19 in the third quarter for a 104-79 lead.
The Pistons opened the second half with an 8-0 spurt that included a four-point play by Robinson. A 9-0 outburst midway through the third pushed Detroit’s lead to 90-67. Tobias Harris got it started with a 3-pointer and Cunningham scored the next six points.
The Pistons also scored the last six points of the quarter, including a basket and an assist by LeVert.
When Stewart knocked down a 3-pointer with 8:49 remaining off a Holland feed, the Pistons advantage grew to 30 points.
The Pistons’ bench ended the night scoring 77 points, compared to 32 by the Hawks’ reserves.
–Field Level Media
