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After a brief stop back in Atlanta, the Hawks head back on the road as they prepare to wrap up their three-game road swing against the Detroit Pistons. Atlanta is hoping that 48 minutes will be sufficient this time around. The Hawks blew a 20+ point lead in the fourth quarter against Detroit back on December 26 but survived in double overtime 126-119. The Pistons left that game feeling like they missed an opportunity but they shocked the Miami Heat one day later and will carry a three-game winning streak into Friday's game.
The Hawks will be without Devin Harris, Anthony Morrow and Johan Petro against the Pistons. Harris is out with a foot injury that has hampered him the last two weeks. Morrow suffered a hip injury against Cleveland and remains out. Petro's name is new to the injury report and he will miss Friday's game with a stomach illness. Al Horford also sat out the team's practice on Thursday with a sore hip but he did travel to Detroit and expects to play in the game.
Larry Drew said on Thursday that he plans to stick with Lou Williams in the starting lineup and isn't going to change up what has been working for the team.
"I'm going to stay with what works. That's been working for us [The smaller lineup with Lou] and you know, a couple of games I thought about going back to the bigger lineup, but sometimes you gotta roll the dice a little bit and try to force the opposition to try to adjust to us. He's been good in our lineup and I'm going to keep it that way...Lou plays big, if you don't take advantage of him on the one end, you better be ready for him on the other end."
Game Date/Time: Friday, January 4, 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: Palace of Auburn Hills, Detroit, Michigan
TV: SportSouth
Radio: 680 The Fan, 93.7 FM
Online Streaming: NBA League Pass Broadband