Pistons at Hawks
Blake Griffin decided not to get caught up in losing to his former team to start the weekend, as the Detroit Pistons’ new forward shifted his focus to beginning another winning streak Sunday at the Atlanta Hawks. Griffin scored 19 points in Friday’s 108-95 defeat to the Los Angeles Clippers, ending Detroit’s five-game winning streak – the final four of those victories coming after the Pistons acquired Griffin from Los Angeles in a six-player deal Jan. 29.
“I didn’t play the way I wanted to,” Griffin told reporters after shooting 7-for-19 from the field and then leaving the court at game’s end without shaking hands with any of his former teammates. “We had a good five-game run and we get back to work tomorrow.” While the Pistons began Saturday one game out of the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot, the Hawks held the NBA’s worst record by one-half game over Dallas. Atlanta pushed Cleveland for 2 ½ quarters Friday at home before succumbing 123-107, falling to 3-7 in its past 10 games. “There was a lot of the game where we were good, where we were doing things at a high level,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer told the media afterward. “But we didn’t do it for the entirety of the 48 minutes and that’s the goal.”
TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, FSN Detroit, FSN Southeast (Atlanta)
ABOUT THE PISTONS (27-27): Griffin has averaged 21 points and 7.8 rebounds since joining Detroit, and for the season is averaging 22.4 points and 7.9 boards. Andre Drummond leads the NBA in rebounding at 15.6 per contest and has raised his production of late, averaging 18.1 points with 18.4 rebounds across his past nine games. The Pistons have forced 10 or more turnovers in 53 of their 54 games, including 41 consecutive contests – the longest streak in the NBA this season.
ABOUT THE HAWKS (17-39): Tyler Dorsey continues producing as his role expands, scoring double figures for three consecutive games for the first time in his career, and averaging 11.7 points and 3.7 assists in that span. Dennis Schroder led Atlanta with 25 points on Friday and leads the team in scoring at 19.5 points per game. The Hawks are tied for first in the NBA in forcing turnovers, as opponents average 15.3 miscues per contest.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Detroit has won the first two games of the season series against Atlanta, getting 14 points and 19.5 rebounds per game from Drummond.
2. Atlanta G Marco Belinelli, who averaged 11.4 points and shot 92.7 percent from the free-throw line in 52 games, agreed to a contract buyout Friday.
3. The Pistons are on pace to hit 877 3-pointers this season, which would surpass the franchise record of 740 set in 2015-16.