The Detroit Pistons came agonizingly close to carrying a three-game winning streak into their home matchup against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday.
A buzzer-beating putback pushed the Pistons from a win to a one-point loss when Charlotte Hornets forward Brandon Miller grabbed a rebound and scored. Detroit had defeated Brooklyn and the Los Angeles Lakers in its two previous games.
Rookie Ron Holland’s basket with 6.1 seconds left after a Charlotte turnover had given the Pistons a one-point lead.
“It stings,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. ” Obviously, to play the way we played, make the plays that we made down the stretch to get ourselves back in the game and then gained the lead. The contributions from everybody — Ron making a huge play down the stretch. It’s a tough one to swallow.”
Third-year center Jalen Duren played only eight minutes after suffering an ankle sprain. Paul Reed, who had appeared in just two games, gave Detroit a boost in his absence with 13 points, two rebounds and two steals in 12 minutes.
“He was a huge part of what we did in that second half,” Bickerstaff said. “His energy was great, he defensive rebounded the basketball for us, what he did in pick-and-roll coverages. All those things, he created some energy for us. I thought he was really good.”
Cade Cunningham notched his second straight triple-double with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. However, he shot 9-for-23 from the field and didn’t make a 3-pointer. Most of his points came in the early going.
“I thought he read the game well,” Bickerstaff said. “Earlier in the game, he was seeing a lot of single coverages and was able to get to the paint and finsh. And then they started sending more bodies to him, so he started sharing the ball and getting other guys open shots. I thought he did a great job of playing a complete game.”
The Hawks have won two of their last three games, including a quality 121-116 home victory against the New York Knicks on Wednesday. Top overall pick Zaccharie Risacher had a breakout performance with 33 points, seven rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocked shots. His previous season high was 17 points.
Risacher was shooting 32.9 percent from the field prior to the game. Coach Quin Snyder encouraged him to stay aggressive offensively.
“He basically tells me to shoot the ball,” Risacher said. “That’s not just from him. That’s from everybody on the coaching staff and my teammates. It helps with my confidence.”
Snyder knows Risacher will experience ups and downs throughout his rookie campaign.
“His progress isn’t going to be linear,” Snyder said. “He’s got to stay at it. We have confidence in him if he makes shots or he doesn’t. (Wednesday), he was really good on the defensive glass as well.”
Atlanta trailed by five with less than three minutes remaining, then took the lead with a 13-1 run.
Jalen Johnson had 23 points and 15 rebounds and Trae Young supplied 23 points and 10 assists after being held to two points by Boston in the Hawks’ previous game.
The contest on Friday will be the front end of a back-to-back. The Hawks will host Chicago on Saturday.
