Coming in fresh off five consecutive days of rest, the Detroit Pistons did not miss a beat in what was a composed 27-point throttling of the Atlanta Hawks at home on Friday night. Though the first quarter was a back-and-forth affair complete with 13 lead changes, the Pistons eventually settled into control after halftime and opened up a substantial lead that the Hawks could not deal with as Detroit picked up a 142-115 victory in the Eastern Conference showdown. 

With Tobias Harris healthy and back in the lineup, the Pistons began the game with the healthiest squad that they’ve had all season, and one aspect is clear– a healthy Detroit team is a dangerous team to deal with. The Pistons really spread the ball around against the Hawks, and eight players reached double figures in scoring on Friday for Detroit.

Coming off the bench, Isaiah Stewart was the leading scorer for Detroit with 17 points, five rebounds and five assists in just 21 minutes. Beef Stew has been an instant impact-type player off the bench for the Pistons this year, and Stewart truly excels in his reserve role, so much so that he’s earning All-Defensive team hype already. 

Deep Bench Key To Pistons' Win

Stewart’s running mate, Ron Holland II, was another key player in the Pistons’ big win over the Hawks as well. When Holland and Stewart entered the game in the second quarter, Detroit began to force turnovers and pull away from a Hawks team that was able to find patches of success early on.

To start the game, the Hawks kept going to Nickeil Alexander-Walker on the perimeter, and NAW delivered in kind, hitting shot after shot from behind the arc. Eventually, Alexander-Walker finished the game with 22 points on 4-of-10 shooting from deep, and he repeatedly punished Detroit for leaving him open on the outside by failing to rotate in time. 

Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren, Ausar Thompson All Land On ESPN’s 25 Under 25 List The Detroit Pistons were represented well by a recent ranking of young NBA players

Alexander-Walker was the main threat for the Hawks on the night since Ausar Thompson took a personal challenge in shutting down Jalen Johnson and turned it into a requirement. Thompson was guarding Johnson all game long, and he’d often pick up JJ at half court and stick with him, pressing up on his hip all the way down the floor. Thompson finished the game with two blocks and two steals, so he was effective in clogging the passing lanes and creating turnovers against Atlanta’s primary weapon in Johnson. 

After the Pistons survived the initial surge from Alexander-Walker, Detroit was able to rotate its lineup since everyone on the squad was hitting shots. After Stewart’s team-leading 17, Duncan Robinson and Cade Cunningham scored 15 points apiece. Jalen Duren posted 14 points in the win, while Thompson and Holland had 12 points to go with Jaden Ivey and Caris LeVert’s 10-point efforts. So, it is clear that the Pistons were up by so much so early that they were able to mix up the lineup and get everybody involved in the big win. 

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Scoring 34 points in each quarter tonight, the Pistons kept the pressure on all the way until the final whistle. Detroit scored its highest total, 38 points, in the fourth quarter as Marcus Sasser, Paul Reed and the rest of the second unit secured what was a 27-point victory for the top team in the Eastern Conference.

Now at 20-5 on the season, the Pistons have a couple days off before facing the Boston Celtics on the road on Monday, Dec. 15 at 7 pm. 

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