Hawks 107, Pistons 100
ATLANTA -- Over and over, the Atlanta Hawks fouled Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond, sending the league's top rebounder to his least favorite spot -- the free-throw line.
The hack-a-Drummond strategy worked, forcing Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy to take his big man off the floor for stretches and changing the flow of Wednesday's game. Atlanta took advantage.
Point guard Jeff Teague scored 23 points and handed out nine assists, and the Hawks used a big second-quarter run with Drummond on the bench to take command in a 107-100 win over the Pistons in battle of two top-six teams in the Eastern Conference at Philips Arena.
Atlanta, which won its fifth game in a row, sent Drummond to the line continually during stretches in the first and second quarters. A 51 percent foul shooter, Drummond hit seven of 18 from the line. His struggles eventually forced Gundy to take him out, and that was when the Hawks made a run.
Forward Paul Millsap hit a 3-pointer from the right wing late in the shot clock to put the Hawks up 45-38 with 5:15 left in the first half. Atlanta closed out the half with a 13-3 run and took a 61-45 lead into halftime.
The Hawks' advantage grew to 20 early in the third quarter, and Detroit, playing on the second night of a back-to-back, couldn't mount a serious threat.
The Pistons got within eight on a Drummond jump-hook in the lane, but Teague got to the rim and drew a goaltending call to put the Hawks up 107-97 with 40.7 seconds left.
Drummond finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds. He entered the game leading the NBA in rebounding, averaging 16.2 boards per game. Atlanta is last in rebounding differential and is getting outrebounded by an average of five per game, but Detroit managed just a 46-42 edge on the glass Wednesday.
The Hawks were outrebounded by 19 on Monday a win over the Portland Trail Blazers.
Millsap added 18 points, center Al Horford had 15, and backup point guard Dennis Schoder added 14 points off the bench for the Hawks, who reached triple digits for the fifth game in a row.
Forward Marcus Morris finished with 22 points, and point guard Reggie Jackson added 19 points for the Pistons.
NOTES: Fog prevented the Pistons from travelling from Miami to Atlanta after beating the Heat on Tuesday night. The team stayed the night in Miami and arrived in Atlanta Wednesday morning. ... Hawks backup PG Dennis Schroder had a tooth knocked out during Monday's win over the Portland Trail Blazers. The tooth had not been repaired as of Wednesday's game. ... The two teams met in Atlanta to open the season, and the Pistons won 106-94.