Cade Cunningham made a running hook shot with nine seconds left and the host Detroit Pistons pulled out a 122-121 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night.
Cunningham recorded his third straight triple-double with 22 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists. His clutch basket bailed out the Pistons after they squandered a 24-point lead.
Malik Beasley and Tobias Harris also scored 22 points apiece, while Jaden Ivey added 18.
Trae Young led the Hawks with 35 points and 13 assists. Jalen Johnson had 20 points and nine rebounds, while Dyson Daniels supplied 18 points and seven steals. Zaccharie Risacher was held to seven points after the top pick of the draft scored 33 in the Hawks’ previous game.
Detroit shot 62.5 percent in the opening quarter while rolling to a 40-23 lead.
The half ended with the Pistons up 66-53. Harris had 16 points and Beasley contributed 13. Young carried his club with 18 points.
The Pistons continued to have trouble containing Young. The Hawks point guard nailed a 3-pointer and converted a three-point play in a 16 second span early in the third quarter, pulling Atlanta within nine points.
A 7-0 Detroit spurt midway through the quarter made it 81-67. The Pistons’ lead was still 10 points at 86-76 after a Beasley basket.
The Hawks responded with a 9-2 run to cut Detroit’s advantage to three. The Pistons scored the last seven points of the quarter, including a Beasley 3-pointer, for a 95-85 lead.
Detroit also scored the first four points of the fourth. Cunningham’s layup with 7:42 left gave Detroit a 106-95 lead but a 12-3 Hawks run made it a two-point game.
A Daniels layup tied it at 114-apiece with 3:36 left. A Harris 3-pointer put the Pistons back on top.
Detroit led by four with one minute remaining. Daniels hit a 3-pointer after a Cunningham turnover to pull his team within one. After a Cunningham miss, Young made two free throws with 13 seconds left to give Atlanta the lead.
Cunningham then scored his go-ahead basket four seconds later. Cunningham blocked an Onyeka Okongwu shot at the buzzer to preserve Detroit’s win.
