Hawks at Pistons
Detroit Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy sat through a three-hour meeting with owner Tom Gores on Saturday and came out of it with the organization on the same page from the top down, despite some disappointing results. Van Gundy will try to thank his boss for the support with a second straight win when the Pistons host the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday.
Van Gundy, who also serves as Detroit's president of basketball operations, is 95-112 since taking over prior to the 2014-15 season and helped the Pistons wrap up a 2-3 west coast swing with a 102-97 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday. "We've got a bump in the road, and that's what success is about -- you have to work through it. It's all about having rough times and your ability to work through," Gores told reporters. "I never worry about Stan, because he wants to win. He's the hardest worker I've ever seen in my life. I believe in him as a man and I believe in him as a strong person." Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer has his team further up the standings in the Eastern Conference with nine wins in the last 10 games. Atlanta began its two-game road trip with a 108-107 win over the New York Knicks on Monday and won its last five on the road.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FSN Southeast (Atlanta), FSN Detroit
ABOUT THE HAWKS (24-17): Atlanta bridged November and December with a stretch of 10 losses in 11 games, lowlighted by a 121-85 home loss to the Pistons on Dec. 2, but is 14-5 since pulling out of the stretch. The Hawks, who avenged that Dec. 2 setback with a 105-98 home win over Detroit on Dec. 30, got 28 points and a go-ahead 3-pointer from point guard Dennis Schroder in Monday's triumph over the Knicks. Schroder went 13-of-16 from the field on Monday in pulling out of a funk that saw him total 10 points on 5-of-19 shooting in the previous two contests - both at home - and is averaging 21.6 points in the last five road games.
ABOUT THE PISTONS (19-24): Detroit is trying to find some consistency on the defensive end and snapped a six-game string of allowing opponents 100 or more points with Sunday's triumph. "It was a huge win for us, just because we’ve had some tough games that we feel like we’ve underachieved in," Pistons small forward Tobias Harris told reporters. "On top of that, it's a good win to just get something going and get some steam going into home as we go into winning some more games and putting it together." Harris leads the team in scoring (16.7 points) and scored 23 in Sunday's triumph.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Hawks SG Tim Hardaway Jr. recorded four of his nine 20-point outings on the season this month.
2. Pistons PF Marcus Morris went 4-of-8 from 3-point range on Sunday after going 3-of-18 in the previous four contests.
3. Detroit PF Jon Leuer (bone bruise) sat out the last four games and is day-to-day.