Hawks fall flat vs. Pistons in 122-101 loss

The Atlanta Hawks were searching for a sweep of a road back-to-back on Wednesday night when they faced the Detroit Pistons. The Hawks fell behind big in the third quarter in this one, and were unable to make up the deficit in a 122-101 defeat.

Atlanta led after the first quarter 31-26, powered by nine points and four assists from Trae Young.

Rookie Jalen Johnson cracked the rotation in this game with both Danilo Gallinari and John Collins ruled out. Johnson flashed some of his upside early:

The Pistons dominated the second quarter by a score of 33-20, taking control of the game into the half. Detroit scored 14 points in the paint in the period, while the Hawks shot 7-of-23 from the floor. Atlanta trailed 59-51 at the half, as their legs began to fade on the second night of the back-to-back.

Detroit ran away with the game during the third quarter, going on a 23-0 run to put it out of reach. Atlanta closed the third quarter on a 21-7 run to cut it to 93-78, but they didn’t have th legs to erase what was once a 29-point deficit.

The Hawks were unable to muster much of a run in the fourth, and ultimately fell to the Pistons, who clearly had more energy as the team with the rest edge. Atlanta will look to rebound Friday night vs. a banged-up Golden State Warriors team that will be missing Stephen Curry.

Young led the Hawks with 21 points and nine assists, while De’Andre Hunter added 15 points in the loss. Johnson finished with 11 points and seven rebounds.

Jerami Grant led the Pistons with 21 points, while seven other Detroit players scored in double-figures.

Stay tuned.