Unbeaten Hawks hold off winless Pistons

 Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks reacts during the first half against the Detroit Pistons at State Farm Arena on December 28, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images/AFP

Trae Young scored 29 points and shot 15-for-15 at the foul line to help the Atlanta Hawks turn aside Detroit’s comeback attempt and defeat the visiting Pistons 128-120 on Monday.

Atlanta led 115-91 with 7:43 left before Detroit scored 15 consecutive points.

The Pistons got as close as five when Jerami Grant made a 3-pointer with 1:05 left. However, the Hawks finished the game perfectly from the free-throw line, with Young going 4-for-4 and John Collins going 2-for-2 to prevent the Pistons from getting any closer.

Atlanta is off to its first 3-0 start since the 2016-17 season. Detroit is 0-3 for the first time since 2014-15. The Hawks broke a two-game losing head-to-head losing streak against the Pistons and snapped a three-game skid against Detroit in Atlanta.

Bogdan Bogdanovic rediscovered his outside shooting touch to score 17 points. Bogdanovic was 1-for-9 on 3-point attempts against the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday but bounced back Monday to make 5 of 7. Atlanta sank 20 of 42 attempts from long range, eclipsing its season high of 14 made 3-pointers in the season opener against the Chicago Bulls.

The Hawks got a lift from veteran Rajon Rondo, who missed the first two games due to COVID-19 protocols and was making his Atlanta debut. Rondo played 15 minutes and had 12 points and eight assists.

Detroit was led by Grant and Josh Jackson with 27 points apiece. Devon Wright came off the bench to score 18.

Atlanta led 33-25 after one quarter, but Detroit got back in the game by taking advantage of a technical foul on Young. Detroit scored seven straight points and trimmed the deficit to 43-41 with 7:13 left in the half.

Atlanta pulled away with a 17-2 run and had a 62-49 lead with 1:34 left on a basket by Bruno Fernando. Atlanta took a 65-56 lead into halftime.

Rondo had a pair of 3-pointers in the third quarter and the Hawks led 100-87 entering the final period.

Field Level Media