Pistons at Hawks
The Detroit Pistons are winners of four of their last five games and gave themselves a shot at a winning four-game road trip with a 121-114 triumph at Boston on Wednesday. Standing in the way are the Atlanta Hawks, who host the Pistons on Friday and are stumbling with losses in four straight and seven of their last eight.
Detroit dropped the opener of the road trip at Oklahoma City but bounced back by crushing Charlotte 112-89 before holding off Boston. "We are playing more together out there on the floor," Pistons forward Tobias Harris told reporters. "We are moving the basketball on the offensive end, we are getting easy looks, and we are embracing each other out there and that is a really good sign." The Hawks are singing a different tune and are hoping to turn things around at home after losing at Phoenix on Wednesday to drop the final four of a five-game road trip. "You never feel good when you have a tough road trip and you’ve lost a few in a row," Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer told reporters. "But I think we are looking forward to going home. This is a pretty mature group and they will be ready on Friday."
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FSN Detroit, FSN Southeast (Atlanta)
ABOUT THE PISTONS (10-10): Detroit played the first 20 games without starting point guard Reggie Jackson, who is expected back early this month, but found a capable replacement in journeyman Ish Smith. The Wake Forest product is averaging 15.5 points in the last four games after posting a season-high 19 on Wednesday. "It’s a comfort level," Smith told reporters. "You come to a new team, you don’t want to step on any toes, you don’t want to really stand out. But you still want to play your game. Coach does a great job, even though he gets on us a lot, of pulling the best out of us."
ABOUT THE HAWKS (10-9): One positive from Atlanta's road trip was the play of reserve shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr., who scored 21 points on Wednesday and logged more court time (26 minutes) than starter Kyle Korver (16 minutes). "(Hardaway) was playing well, offensively, defensively," Budenholzer told reporters. "He gives us another ball handler. A guy who is attacking the basket a little bit. I thought it was one of his better overall games, including defensively. I thought he competed there." Korver averaged 4.8 points on 28.6 percent shooting on the road trip.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Hawks All-Star PF Paul Millsap (hip) sat out Wednesday and is day-to-day.
2. Pistons rookie PF Henry Ellenson (ankle) missed the last two contests and is questionable.
3. The Hawks took three of the four meetings last season, though Detroit did earn its win at Atlanta.