Cade Cunningham’s late surge, combined with Detroit’s rebounding, sealed a dramatic one-point win as Atlanta’s last-second tip-in narrowly missed.
The Detroit Pistons leaned on Cade Cunningham’s composure in the final minutes and held on through a frantic last-second scramble to edge the Atlanta Hawks 99–98 on Monday night at Little Caesars Arena.
Detroit trailed deep into the fourth quarter before Cunningham authored the defining stretch of the night, scoring eight of his 18 points in the final 3:21. His closing run helped the Pistons secure their 15th win in 17 games and withstand a furious effort from an Atlanta team playing on the second night of a back-to-back.
The Hawks — less than 24 hours removed from a double-overtime win — still had a chance to steal the game at the horn, but Jalen Johnson’s tip-in off a perfectly placed inbound lob came off the rim with 0.1 seconds left.
Detroit’s interior presence kept it afloat long enough to make the final push. Jalen Duren powered through Atlanta’s front line for 21 points and 11 rebounds, and the Pistons repeatedly extended possessions with relentless offensive rebounding.
The Hawks, though, countered with bursts of shot-making and Johnson’s second-half eruption. After scoring only four points before halftime, he delivered 25 in the final two quarters to finish with 29 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists.
After the loss, Hawks coach Quin Snyder began his postgame reflection by describing how proud he was of his team’s resolve after a draining back-to-back.
“There are no moral victories,” Snyder said.
Snyder continued by pointing directly to the toughness his team showed while dealing with Detroit’s physicality.
“I told our team after the game, I think one of the things that is hard to work on is just your mental toughness.”
A moment later, Snyder framed the game in the context of how Atlanta responded to the Pistons’ climb up the Eastern Conference standings.
“Tonight to come out, it was a team that was doing what Detroit is doing this year and eating up our Conference,” he said.
And before finishing his opening statement, Snyder highlighted Johnson’s poise on a night where the Hawks absorbed wave after wave of contact.
“For our guys to play through what was a really physical game, Jalen in particular, to have the first half he had,” Snyder said. “He just had great poise, wasn’t any part of him that was frustrated. We didn’t get discouraged, and that to me is as much as anything, just, what we take from this game.”
Detroit spent most of the night flirting with separation but kept giving the ball away — committing 22 turnovers through three quarters. Atlanta stayed within reach and tied the game at 82 on Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s 3-pointer with 7:06 remaining.
Cunningham answered moments later with a short jumper to reclaim the lead, and Detroit’s defense turned the tide when Caris LeVert forced turnovers on consecutive possessions. One became a layup; the other set up Cunningham free throws for a 95–89 advantage.
But the Hawks kept swinging. Cunningham missed a 3-pointer, Johnson knocked down a transition 3, and Alexander-Walker buried another to tie the game with 1:12 to play.
Johnson later explained how he shifted gears coming out of halftime, opening up about the urgency he felt.
“Honestly, I just needed to wake up. That’s all it was,” Johnson said.
He then described how that realization pushed him into attack mode.
“I just needed to up my energy. I needed to. I know my team needed more from me. So, I mean, that was just a mindset in the second half. I wasn’t aggressive enough, I don’t think, in the first half and second half, I just really just tried to be more aggressive and insert myself on the offensive end.”
Cunningham regained control with a pull-up jumper and later slipped in a reverse layup with 17 seconds left to make it 99–95. Alexander-Walker hit yet another deep 3 — his sixth — with 1.2 seconds to go, and the Hawks nearly stole the win after Daniss Jenkins missed two free throws. But Johnson’s last attempt didn’t fall.
Alexander-Walker, who finished with 26 points, was candid afterward about how Atlanta put itself in difficult spots despite battling to the end.
“I feel like, as much as we fought to make it a game, I feel like we hurt ourselves and put ourselves in positions to have to fight,” he said.
He then took responsibility for a few late possessions he wished he could redo.
“And that starts with me,” Alexander-Walker said. “I feel like towards the end I had, like a blocked shot, missed shot, maybe I could have drove, kind of heat check type thing. I wish I had that one back and rebounded.”
Okongwu, who scored 20 and helped stabilize Atlanta early, reflected on how the Hawks managed the physical toll of two intense nights.
“We’re really gonna grind,” he said.
He made clear that the Hawks refused to use fatigue as an explanation.
“We’re always gonna play hard. We’re not going to make two excuses for ourselves.”
The Hawks return home Wednesday to face the Clippers in a matchup featuring former Atlanta players Bogdan Bogdanovic and John Collins.