Stuckey, Monroe, Drummond lead Pistons to win

Hawks lose 102-95 to Pistons, missing chance to pad lead for final playoff spot in East

4/8/2014
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Detroit Pistons guard Rodney Stuckey (3) goes up for the shot against Atlanta Hawks forward Elton Brand (42) in the first period.
Detroit Pistons guard Rodney Stuckey (3) goes up for the shot against Atlanta Hawks forward Elton Brand (42) in the first period.

ATLANTA — Rodney Stuckey scored 29 points, Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond each had a double-double and the Detroit Pistons snapped a 10-game skid in Atlanta with a 102-95 victory over the Hawks tonight.

With four games remaining in the regular season, the Hawks hold a two-game lead over New York for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot.

Paul Millsap had 24 points and 12 rebounds for Atlanta, which had won three of four.

Monroe finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds and Drummond had 19 points and 17 rebounds for the Pistons, who were eliminated from playoff contention when the Hawks won Sunday at Indiana.

Detroit has won two straight after dropping five of six.

Atlanta trailed by three when Drummond blocked Millsap’s jumper in the lane and tipped in Kyle Singler’s missed fast-break layup to put the Pistons up 96-91 with 1:36 remaining.

The Pistons were up by 13 twice in the second, the latter coming on Peyton Siva’s 3-pointer at the 8:47 mark, but Atlanta cut the lead to four on Kyle Korver’s 3 in the final minute.

Detroit played without leading scorer Josh Smith, who was sidelined by patella tendinitis in his left knee. Stuckey replaced the former Atlanta star in the starting lineup and had 15 points in the first half.

Jeff Teague finished with 15 points and nine assists for the Hawks.

Korver overcame a turnover midway through the third by hitting a 3 on Atlanta’s ensuing possession to force a 67-all tie.

The Hawks took their first lead of the game on their next possession as DeMarre Carroll took on outlet pass from Teague and hit a fast-break layup at the 6:24 mark.

But after three more lead changes, Detroit began the fourth ahead 81-78 and never trailed again.

Atlanta gets another chance to pad its lead over New York on Wednesday when Boston visits Philips Arena. The Knicks’ next game is Friday at Toronto.

NOTES: The game was played Tuesday after getting rescheduled from Jan. 29 because of a snowstorm. ... Smith missed his first game since signing a four-year, $54 million contract as a free agent. He has started 76 of 77 games. ... Detroit won in Atlanta for the first time since Feb. 12, 2008. ... The Hawks missed 26 of 35 attempts beyond the arc. ... Stuckey, who made his second start in 70 games, gave the Pistons their first double-digit lead by hitting a 3 to make it 40-29 with 10:20 left in the second. ... Hawks reserve G Lou Williams was in uniform, but he sat out for a second straight with a sore left hamstring. ... The Hawks dropped to 22-16 at home. ... Detroit improved to 13-27 on the road. ... John Loyer improved to 8-20 as Detroit’s interim coach.