The Detroit Pistons won’t have to wait long for an opportunity to pay back the Atlanta Hawks.
Atlanta handed Detroit its fourth straight loss, 118-113, on Wednesday. They’ll match up once again in Detroit on Friday.
Pistons coach Dwane Casey saw marked improvement from the previous night, when his team lost at Washington by 21 points.
The Pistons led 100-99 midway through the fourth quarter. The Hawks then reeled off nine consecutive points and never relinquished the lead.
Bojan Bogdanovic and Cade Cunningham kept the Pistons close with their offensive punch. Bogdanovic, who played the last three seasons with perennial playoff team Utah, poured in 33 points and is averaging a team-best 23.2 points per game.
Bogdanovic provides a veteran presence on a rotation mainly filled with first-, second- and third-year players.
With backcourt partner Jaden Ivey out with a non-COVID illness, Cunningham attempted a season-high 25 field goals and scored 26 points. However, he also committed seven turnovers and didn’t score in the fourth quarter.
So was Atlanta’s star guard, Trae Young, who scored 35 points. He attempted 17 free throws and made all but one.
Young was disappointed he didn’t score more off his 21 field goal attempts, making just one of his seven 3-point shots.
Forward John Collins contributed 19 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks. Collins and center Clint Capela each grabbed six fourth-quarter rebounds while Detroit’s entire team only had seven.
Atlanta coach Nate McMillan used a nine-man rotation and got 10 points apiece out of reserves Aaron Holiday and Onyeka Okongwu.
