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Hawks seek more success during long homestand

Dec 21, 2008 - 8:20 AM Detroit (14-11) at Atlanta (16-10), 2:00 p.m. EST

ATLANTA (Ticker) -- Like much of the season, the Atlanta Hawks have enjoyed success during their current homestand.

However, they will surely be put to the test when they host the Detroit Pistons in the fifth contest of their eight-game run at Philips Arena on Sunday.

The Hawks are 10-2 at home, and own the fourth-best overall record in the Eastern Conference. They are coming off a 115-99 win over Golden State on Friday - two nights after suffering the lone blemish in their current stretch, an 88-85 setback to the Boston Celtics.

Joe Johnson ignited a fourth-quarter run against Golden State with a pair of buckets and Ronald Murray scored 13 of his 20 points in the period to pace Atlanta, which was sluggish for three quarters.

Winners of three of their last four, the Hawks must come out of the gate strong against the Pistons, who are looking to bounce back from Friday's 120-114 loss in double-overtime to the Utah Jazz.

With that setback, Detroit had its three-game winning streak end. Allen Iverson is averaging 28.7 points in his last three contests.