Pistons 96 - 101 Hawks
Final
  for this game

Teague leads Hawks over Pistons

Apr 7, 2012 - 4:24 AM Atlanta, GA (Sports Network) - Jeff Teague tied a career-high with 24 points and dished out a season-high 11 assists as the Atlanta Hawks survived a fourth-quarter push by the Detroit Pistons to escape with a 101-96 victory at Philips Arena.

Josh Smith added 22 points and 12 rebounds while Joe Johnson and Ivan Johnson netted 16 points apiece for the Hawks, who won for the third time in four games.

"We were just trying to push the ball and get to the basket. We have been doing it the past couple of games, trying to force the issue in the paint, and it worked out for us tonight," said Teague.

Rodney Stuckey scored 27 points to pace Detroit, which had its three-game win streak snapped. Will Bynum contributed 15 points off the bench and Brandon Knight finished with 13 in a losing effort.

Detroit trailed, 78-68, entering the fourth quarter, but Stuckey opened the frame with five straight points to spark a 15-2 run that put the Pistons on top, 83-80.

Back-to-back jumpers by Smith stopped the spurt and regained the lead for the Hawks before Jonas Jerebko's field goal gave the Pistons an 85-84 edge just past the midpoint of the fourth.

It was all Atlanta from there, though, as consecutive dunks by Smith and Marvin Williams put the Hawks back on top for good and they held at least a three-point lead for the rest of the game as they made enough free throws down the stretch to hang on for the win.

After the teams traded baskets to start the game, Atlanta recorded the next nine points to jump out to an 11-2 lead.

Detroit responded with a 14-4 run to take a 16-15 edge on Knight's three-point play with a little over four minutes left in the frame, but the Hawks answered back with a 9-0 push to retake the lead and held a 24-20 advantage after the first.

The Hawks maintained that lead over the first four minutes of the second quarter until Bynum scored seven points in an 11-0 spurt by the Pistons put them ahead, 38-32.

But Teague then took over the remainder of the half, scoring six straight points to spark a 20-5 run by Atlanta over the final six minutes of the second to give the Hawks a 52-43 lead at the break on Teague's driving layup as time expired.

Teague finished with 17 points and four assists over the opening 24 minutes of action.

"He pretty much killed us tonight," Stuckey said about Teague. "They were just getting in the paint all night and getting offensive rebounds. So credit them but we were still in the game."

The Pistons opened up the third with a 7-2 swing to close the gap to four, 54-50, but Atlanta responded with 12 of the next 16 points to stretch its lead up to double digits and kept the Pistons at arm's length for the remainder of the third en route to a 78-68 lead entering the fourth quarter.

Game Notes

Atlanta leads the season series, 2-1...The Hawks improved to 19-11 at home this season, while Detroit fell to 6-22 on the road...Atlanta held a 42-38 advantage on the glass and outscored the Pistons in the paint, 54-48.






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