The Atlanta Hawks defeated the Detroit Pistons 121-113 on Wednesday night at State Farm Arena. Atlanta got away with the win, despite Malachi Flynn’s career-high 50 points off the bench. Jalen Johnson collected his first career triple-double to lead the Hawks to their second consecutive victory.
Dejounte Murray got the crowd engaged early after he stole the ball off a dribble-hand-off, leading to Johnson throwing down a powerful dunk. The Hawks got out to a quick 11-4 lead, attacking the Pistons’ paint. Atlanta held Detroit to 4-17 from the field to start the game, forcing three early turnovers. Jalen Duren was a productive scorer for the Pistons early, who had nine of their first 15 points. However, Detroit’s bench got them back into the game. Flynn and company tied the game at 23 points before Atlanta went on a 5-0 run to end the opening frame. Atlanta only led 28-23, despite shooting 52% compared to the Pistons’ 32%.
Kobe Bufkin was hunting for his shot to open the second quarter, converting three of his first five shots. After a hot start, Atlanta fell into an offensive slump, shooting 1-11 from beyond the arc. Flynn completed a four-point play for 17 points, but he was attacking the lane as well, making six of seven from the charity stripe. Johnson threw a perfect lob near the logo to Murray for an “inverted alley-oop” slam, and Bogdan Bogdanović and Murray hit back-to-back triples during a 10-2 Hawks run. Atlanta led 59-50 after the first 24 minutes led by Murray’s 14 and De’Andre Hunter’s 13 points. Clint Capela was a beast on the boards with 13 rebounds entering the second half.
Hunter and Bogdanović knocked down two threes right out of the locker room. Johnson displayed his playmaking with a smooth dime to Hunter in traffic as the Hawks started the quarter on a 16-6 run to lead 75-58. However, Flynn would not let the Pistons go away quietly. He got everything he wanted, whether it was from three-point range, the free throw line, paint or mid-range. Hunter continued his hot shooting with nine early in the third frame. Detroit put together a 15-3 run to cut the deficit to 10 points behind Flynn’s 31 points. Johnson stole some momentum heading into the fourth with an and-one jam, giving Atlanta a 92-79 lead after three quarters.
Flynn and Marcus Sasser gave Hawks fans a scare with back-to-back triples to cut the Hawks’ lead to single digits. Johnson collected the triple-double from his tenth assist on Garrison Mathews’ three, as Atlanta’s bench celebrated the feat. The game was still hanging in the balance because the Pistons forced two live-ball turnovers in three possessions and scored on the other end. Detroit cut the deficit to 104-96, and Flynn knocked down a deep three to cut Atlanta’s lead to five points. Johnson found Capela on an alley-oop to give the Hawks some breathing room down the stretch. After Flynn reached 50 points on a fastbreak layup, the Pistons were only five points behind. However, Atlanta took care of the ball and knocked down their free throws in the final seconds to seal the win.
Johnson finished with a monster stat line. He tied his career high with 28 (10-14 FG) points and also had 11 assists, 14 rebounds, four steals and a block. Hunter scored 26 and grabbed seven boards, while Murray added 24 points and 11 dimes. Capela posted an 11-point, 16-rebound double-double, as he continued his excellent run of late.
For Detroit, Flynn scored 3 points in the second half to reach the 50-point plateau on 18-25 shooting. Duren and Sasser scored 11 points each, but without Cade Cunningham, the Pistons’ offense struggled to find a consistent rhythm. Jaden Ivey shot 3-15 for eight points.
Atlanta face the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center on Thursday night in the second half of a back-to-back. The Hawks will look to continue their excellent run, winning six of their last seven games.
