Hawks fall to Pistons 115-87 in preseason finale

The Hawks had a much different looking team in their final preseason game Friday night. Kyle Korver, Paul Millsap, Al Horford, and Tiago Splitter did not travel with the team, and Thabo Sefolosha was out due to an ankle injury, and Kent Bazemore sat this one out. This led to a starting lineup that consisted of Dennis Schroder, Tim Hardaway Jr., Justin Holiday, Mike Muscala, and Edy Tavares.

Detroit, who started Stanley Johnson, Andre Drummond, Marcus Morris, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Reggie Bullock wasted no time in this one, jumping out to a 29-12 lead in the first quarter on the Hawks with over three minutes left in the first quarter. They would close out the quarter up 30-20.

The Pistons success continued in the second quarter, where they outscored the Hawks 29-26, and took a comfortable 13-point lead into the half.  The Pistons continued much of the same success throughout the third quarter, outscoring the Hawks 26-22. Throughout both quarters, the Pistons were just making their shots, and committing less turnovers than the Hawks.

Just as the previous three quarters, the fourth belonged to the Pistons, where they would extend their lead, beating the Hawks by a score of 115-87. Mike Scott led all Hawks scorers with 20 points on 10-of-13 shooting, while Lamar Patterson contributed 18. Edy Tavares had a game-high 12 rebounds for the Hawks. For the Pistons, rookie Stanley Johnson had 20 points, and Marcus Morris had a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds.

The Hawks will open up the season on Tuesday against these same Detroit Pistons, but expect both squads to look different in that matchup.