Tue 4 Dec 2007
Big 3rd Quarter Key As Pistons Throttle Hawks 106-95
Posted by Stephen Rhodes under Main
The scoreboard at Philips Arena (home of the Atlanta Hawks) gave the fans something to cheer about - even if it wasn’t true. At the start of the fourth quarter, the scoreboard went blank; to further the scoreboard fiasco, the scoreboard had the score as: Atlanta 75, Detroit 0. Perhaps that was because of the big third quarter of scoring (31 points) that the Pistons had; that quarter enabled the Pistons to beat the Hawks 106-95 at Atlanta.Despite the overwhelming rebounding advantage Detroit enjoyed in the first half, Atlanta was very fortunate to only be behind 57-48. Detroit forward Tayshaun Prince blocked a shot by Atlanta Hawks swingman Marvin Williams and scored on the other end of the floor to widen the Pistons’ lead to 64-52, forcing Hawks coach Mike Woodson to take a timeout. At the 4:19 mark of the 3rd period, Woodson had to burn another timeout after a layup by Detroit’s Jason Maxiell pushed Detroit’s lead to 73-57.
The Pistons would score 8 straight points after that timeout, widening the lead to 81-57. The Pistons’ Chauncey Billups made 2 free throws with 1.4 seconds left in the 3rd, giving Detroit a 87-61 lead, which they’d never relinquish. Detroit had 7 players in double-figures, led by Prince with 23 points; Jarvis Hayes added 17 from off the bench, while Richard Hamilton chipped in with 17, along with 5 rebounds and 7 assists.
Atlanta was led by Josh Childress with 18 points, with reserve guard Salim Stoudemire adding 15. al Horford, while scoring only 8 points, grabbed 10 boards. Detroit (12-5) travels west to New Orleans to take on the Hornets on Wednesday, while Atlanta (7-10) remains home to host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night.
