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AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) — Richard Hamilton scored 24 points and the Detroit Pistons ended a four-game losing streak with a 103-80 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night.
Charlie Villanueva added 23 points and 11 rebounds for Detroit, which blew a 25-point lead in a loss to Toronto on Saturday. Josh Smith led the Hawks with 26 points, while Al Horford added 17 points and 12 rebounds.
Detroit dominated the first half, leading from the first possession on its way to a 49-37 halftime lead. Hamilton had 20 points and the Pistons held Atlanta to 34 percent shooting.
The Pistons, though, have become renowned for third-quarter collapses, and had another one against the Hawks. Atlanta scored the first 11 points of the second half, cutting the deficit to one.
Detroit staved off the rally and led 64-61 going into the fourth. The Pistons then moved the advantage back to double figures on Tracy McGrady's 3-pointer that made it 74-63 with 8:10 left. McGrady, who came into the game with two 3-pointers all season, had four in the fourth quarter.
The Hawks came apart down the stretch, allowing Detroit to pull away for the easy win.
NOTES: Pistons coach John Kuester juggled his rotation yet again, with Jason Maxiell going from the starting lineup to out of the rotation. Instead, Detroit started post players Ben Wallace and Greg Monroe together for the first time. Neither Maxiell or Austin Daye, another former starter, played until the final 90 seconds. ... While Al Horford was putting up his double-double for the Hawks, his brother Jon was an hour away, putting up nine points and nine rebounds for Michigan in its 64-44 win over North Carolina Central. ... The end of the game was delayed for a few minutes after the Palace crew released streamers with 0.2 seconds still left on the clock.
