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Wednesday, Jan. 5 7:30pm ET
Hill has 42 points for 2nd game in row | |||||
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 GAME FLOW
ATLANTA (AP) -- Grant Hill is stuck on 42. The Detroit star scored 42 points for the second game in a row, leading the Pistons to their fifth straight victory, 120-108 over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night.
"Every time the ball was in his hands, it went straight through the basket," Hawks center Dikembe Mutombo said. "There's nothing you can do about that." Hill, who also scored 42 Monday in a victory in Orlando, buried the Hawks with 17-point third quarter, helping bring the Pistons back from a 10-point deficit. He finished four points shy of his career high, set last season against Washington. "It feels good to win, whether you score 40 or four," Hill said. "I had just four points in the first quarter. I didn't think I'd have this kind of game." Three Detroit players accounted for 93 points. Jerry Stackhouse had 28 and former Hawk Christian Laettner added 23. No other Piston had more than nine. "The bottom line is that if Grant is going to get on a roll like that, Jerry is going to play like that and Christian is going to play like that, somewhere along the line we're going to be good enough to make a run," Pistons coach Alvin Gentry said. Isaiah Rider, playing for the second time since a one-game suspension, led the Hawks with 27 points. But Atlanta, losing its fifth in a row, had no one who could stop Hill. "They've got a great player over there," Rider said. "I've talked to him during the season and he's really focused. He wants to take them to another level." Atlanta dropped to 11-20 -- its worst start since the 1971-72 season, when the Hawks began 9-22 en route to a 36-46 finish. The Pistons, already leading the NBA with an average of 31.77 free throws, went to the line 33 times, making 27. The Hawks were 19-of-24. "There's a reason why they get to the line so much night after night," said Hawks acting coach Stan Albeck, filling in for flu-stricken Lenny Wilkens. "They're very athletic and they have good inside, outside combinations." The Hawks built a 79-69 lead, their biggest of the game, when Mutombo hit two free throws with 4:54 remaining in the third period. Hill then took over, scoring the next seven points. The Detroit star scored the final five points of the quarter, as well, giving the Pistons an 87-84 lead before Jason Terry hit a 75-footer at the buzzer to make it even going to the fourth. That turned out to be merely a bump in the road for the Pistons, who quickly regained control with a 10-0 spurt to begin the final quarter. Jerome Williams capped the run with a three-play play, managing to hit the shot even though he was slammed to the floor by Bimbo Coles, who was called for an intentional foul. Hill scored 12 points in the fourth to match his season high and the second-highest scoring game of his career. The teams met last week in Detroit, the Pistons winning 106-105 on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Terry Mills in overtime. This time, Hill made sure that no last-second dramatics were necessary.
Game notes | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Detroit Clubhouse Atlanta Clubhouse RECAPS Philadelphia 113 Golden State 92
Detroit 120
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