Feb 3, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) looks on in the first half against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images / Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
For the first time since January 18th, the Atlanta Hawks have won a basketball game. Atlanta was on the road in Detroit looking for their first win against the Pistons this year and it took Trae Young scoring 34 points for the second straight game and hitting a game winning shot with 1.6 seconds left for them to do it.
It was brilliant game for Young. He shot 9-16 from the floor and 4-8 from three, as well as going 12-14 from the free throw line. This was the second 30-point game from Young against the Pistons this season. The game from Dyson Daniels should not go overlooked tonight either. Daniels scored 19 points, pulled in six rebounds, handed out seven assists, four steals, and three blocks. It was one of the best games of the season for him and he forced a key turnover late in the game to help give them the win.
Hunter bounced back from a tough game on Saturday to score 20 points tonight, Risacher had 17, Krejci had 13, and Nance had 12 points and 10 rebounds off the bench. Krejci and Nance gave the Hawks a big lift off the bench and they needed it. Atlanta would shoot 52% from the field and 43% from three.
The Pistons got another great performance from their first time All-Star Cade Cunningham. Cunningham had 30 points, 14 assists, and six rebounds tonight and while he was not the most efficent player tonight (8-23 shooting), he had a huge fourth quarter to nearly give the Pistons a win. Tobias Harris had 22 points, Jalen Duren had 18 points and nine rebounds, and Malik Beasley had 18 points off the bench. The Pistons shot 52% from the field, but just 33% from three. The Hawks winning the three-point battle was a huge part of the win tonight.
The Hawks made a big change in the lineup tonight. De'Andre Hunter is one of the leading candidates to win the NBA's 6th Man of the Year Award, but went back to the starting lineup tonight. He joined Trae Young, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, and Onyeka Okongwu. The Pistons starting five was Cade Cunningham, Tim Hardaway Jr, Ausar Thompson, Tobias Harris, and Jalen Duren.
It was a big offensive quarter for both teams to start the game. Detroit made eight of their first ten baskets and one game after scoring only four points, Hunter had seven quick points. The Pistons took an early 17-14 lead in the first five minutes and the scoring was only going to continue.
The Hawks deployed a 10-man bench tonight, with Keaton Wallace, Garrison Matthews, Dominick Barlow, Larry Nance, and Vit Krejci being the second unit tonight. Over the course of this losing streak, the Hawks bench outside of Hunter has really struggled, but these guys had a solid first half. The two teams would proceed to go back and forth in the quarter and the Pistons led 35-34 heading into the second. Atlanta was shooting 52% from the field and 46% from three in the opening quarter, while Detroit was shooting 70% from the field and 50% from three (2-4). Hunter led the Hawks with 12 points, while Cunningham had five points and seven assists.
The second quarter saw the Hawks's defense tighten up, but the Pistons stayed in the game thanks to their ability to get to the free-throw line. Atlanta hit five of their first six shots in the quarter to take the lead 46-44 and they continued to stretch it from there. Over the next seven or so minutes, the Hawks limited the Piston's offense, free-throws side from free-throw shooting and led by as many as 14 points. Detroit got it together towards the end of the quarter with Malik Beasley hitting a three before the half ended, but the Hawks led 73-64 heading into the break. Detroit shot only 6-18 from the field but went 15-17 at the free-throw line in the second quarter alone
The Hawks shot 57% from the field and 47% from three in the first half. The Pistons bottled up the Hawks offense in the last game, but Atlanta had not problem scoring in the first half tonight. The Hawks had four players in double digits, with Young and Hunter both scoring 15.
The Pistons shot 55% from the field and 44% from three. The Hawks outscored Detroit 39-29 in the second quarter.
As well as the second quarter went for the Hawks, it started off as poorly as you can imagine. The Pistons began the quarter on a 13-2 run to take the lead 77-75. Malik Beasley kept pouring it on from three and Jalen Duren was dunking on lobs from Cunningham. It looked like the Pistons were going to seize control of the game, but the Hawks offense responded and kept them in the game after the hot start from Detroit. Atlanta led 101-98 heading into the final period. The Hawks shot just 41% from the field and 30% from three in the third, with Daniels and Risacher scoring six each. The Pistons shot 42% from the field, but just 27% from three. Aside from Beasley, the Pistons could not get it going from three. Duren had eight points and five rebounds in the third, while Cunningham had seven points and four assists.
The fourth quarter turned into a dual between two of the best point guards in the NBA. With the Hawks offense struggling early in the fourth, Young scored 11 straight for the Hawks to keep them ahead, but Cunningham was not going to let the game slip away just yet, scoring eight early points and keeping the Pistons in the game. Atlanta led 124-122 with 3:49 left, but this one looked like it was headed to a great finish.
After Ausar Thompson missed a wide open chance for a basket by losing the ball out of bounds, Detroit got back-to-back buckets from Harris to give them the lead 126-124. Young responded with a three-pointer to take the lead 127-126, but the Pistons got it back quickly with two free throws from Cunningham. After a basket from Okongwu to give the Hawks the lead back, Cunningham missed a shot and the Hawks had a chance to expand the lead with under a minute to go. However, Hunter passed up an open look for three and the Hawks turned it over with a shot clock violation.
It looked like Hunter passing up the shot was going to cost them, but the Great Barrier Thief forced a turnover from Cade Cunningham and the Hawks got the ball back. Young was fouled and went to the free throw line with 31.9 seconds. Young had a chance to get the lead up to three, but split the pair and it was 132-130. On the other end of course, Cunningham got revenge on Daniels and hit a shot under the basket to tie the game with 26.5 seconds.
There have been games this year where the Hawks have been tied with the game winding down and the possession ended with a poor shot and no ball movement. It looked like it was heading that way, but Young hit an incredible shot with 1.6 seconds left to give the Hawks a two point lead.
Cunningham tried throwing the ball in, but it went off the hands of Harris and the clock ran out. The Hawks snapped their eight game losing streak and finally beat the Pistons this season. Atlanta is now 23-27 and they needed this win in the worst way tonight. The Hawks will be back at home on Wednesday to face the Spurs, who might be debuting a new look team.
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