By Dave Hart
LocalSportsJournal.com
Hawks 112, Pistons 95 – The Atlanta Hawks snapped the Pistons five-game winning streak with a victory over Detroit on Saturday night.
The Hawks were led by Paul Millsap with a game-high 23 points while Jeff Teague picked up a double-double with 12 points and 12 assists.
Detroit fell behind 27-15 after the first quarter, trailed 56-42 at halftime and had an 83-74 disadvantage after three quarters.
Atlanta closed out the contest on a 29-21 fourth quarter run to seal the win.
Tobias Harris paced the Pistons with 21 points while Andre Drummond posted 19 points and 17 rebounds. Aron Baynes chipped in with 15 points off the Detroit bench.
The Pistons are now 39-35 on the season, good for a seventh place tie in the NBA’s Eastern Conference. They are two games ahead of the Chicago Bulls for the last playoff spot with eight games remaining.
Detroit will continue its long home stand on Tuesday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Record: 39-35
Tied for 2nd Place in Central Division (13.5 games behind Cleveland)
Tied for 7th Place in Eastern Conference (13.5 games behind Cleveland)
2 games ahead of Chicago for the last playoff spot
Magic # to clinch a playoff berth: 8
Misery # towards elimination from playoff contention: 12
Eliminated from Central Division and Eastern Conference title contention.
Next Game: 03/29/2016 vs. Oklahoma City Thunder 7:30 p.m. @ Palace of Auburn Hills
Stats: Tobias Harris 21 points 10 rebounds, Andre Drummond 19 points 17 rebounds, Aron Baynes 15 points, Marcus Morris 13 points.
Penguins 7, Red Wings 2 – The Pittsburgh Penguins thumped the Red Wings on Saturday afternoon for their third win over Detroit this season.
The Red Wings took a 1-0 lead after the first period, but Pittsburgh stormed back scoring four second period goals to take a commanding lead.
Nick Bonino and Phil Kessel paced the Penguins with a goal and four assists each, while Carl Hagelin chipped in with two goals.
The Red Wings received goals from Andreas Athanasiou and Mike Green.
Detroit’s goaltender Petr Mrazek took the loss, stopping 23 of 27 shots. Jimmy Howard finished the game stopping 11 of 14 shots.
The Red Wings are now 37-27-11 on the season, good for 85 points and fourth place in the Atlantic Division. They are tied with Philadelphia for the final playoff spot with seven games remaining.
Detroit will host the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night.
Record: 37-27-11 85 pts
4th Place in Atlantic Division (8 pts behind Florida)
Tied for 8th Place in Eastern Conference (24 pts behind Washington)
Tied with Philadelphia for the last playoff spot
Magic # to clinch 25th straight playoff berth: 16 pts
Magic # to clinch Atlantic Division title: 23 pts
Misery # towards elimination from a playoff berth: 13 pts
Misery # towards elimination from Atlantic Division title: 7 pts
Eliminated from Eastern Conference title contention
Next Game: 03/28/2016 vs. Buffalo Sabres 7:30 p.m. @ Joe Louis Arena
Stats: Goals- Andreas Athanasiou (7), Mike Green (5). Assists- Pavel Datsyuk (29), Jonathan Ericsson (10), Tomas Tatar (23), Brad Richards (16). Goaltender- Petr Mrazek L (27-16-6) 23 saves on 27 shots, Jimmy Howard 11 saves on 14 shots.
