By Dave Hart
LocalSportsJournal.com
Hawks 118, Pistons 114 – The Pistons failed to move up in the Eastern Conference standings, losing to the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night in the start of their season high nine-game home stand.
Detroit led 32-30 after the first quarter, maintained its lead to 62-61 at halftime and had an 88-87 advantage after three quarters.
The Hawks closed out the game outscoring Detroit 31-26 during the fourth quarter to seal the victory.
Jeff Teague paced Atlanta with 22 points and nine assists, while Al Horford added 21 points and Dennis Schroder chipped in with 18 points off the bench.
The Pistons were led by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope with 24 points while Tobias Harris scored 19 and Andre Drummond chipped in with 18 points and 18 rebounds.
The Pistons are now 34-34 on the season, good for eighth place in the Eastern Conference. They are tied with the Chicago Bulls for the last playoff spot with 14 games remaining.
Detroit will continue its home stand against the Sacramento Kings on Friday night.
Record: 34-34
4th Place in Central Division (14.5 games behind Cleveland)
Tied for 8th Place in Eastern Conference (14.5 games behind Cleveland)
Tied with Chicago for the last playoff spot
Magic # to clinch a playoff berth: 16
Magic # to clinch Central Division title: 30
Magic # to clinch Eastern Conference title: 30
Misery # towards elimination from Central Division title: 1
Misery # towards elimination from playoff contention: 16
Next Game: 03/18/2016 vs. Sacramento Kings 7:30 p.m. @ Palace of Auburn Hills
Stats: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 24 points, Andre Drummond 18 points 18 rebounds, Tobias Harris 19 points, Reggie Jackson 17 points 10 assists, Marcus Morris 14 points.
Flyers 4, Red Wings 3 – The Red Wings lost their 11th straight contest on the road to the Flyers, losing to Philadelphia on Tuesday night.
Michael Raffl paced the Flyers with two goals on the night while Wayne Simmonds added a goal.
The Red Wings received goals from Andreas Athansiou, Pavel Datsyuk and Tomas Tatar.
Detroit’s goaltender Petr Mrazek took the loss, stopping 42 of 46 Philadelphia shots.
The Red Wings are now 34-25-11 on the season, good for 79 points and fourth place in the Atlantic Division. They are one point ahead of Philadelphia for the final playoff spot with 12 games remaining.
Detroit will travel to take on the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night.
Record: 34-25-11 79 pts
4th Place in Atlantic Division (8 pts behind Florida)
8th Place in Eastern Conference (26 pts behind Washington)
1 point ahead of Philadelphia for the last playoff spot
Magic # to clinch 25th straight playoff berth: 28 pts
Magic # to clinch Atlantic Division title: 32 pts
Magic # to clinch Eastern Conference title: 53 pts
Misery # towards elimination from a playoff berth: 26 pts
Misery # towards elimination from Atlantic Division title: 17 pts
Eliminated from Eastern Conference title contention
Next Game: 03/17/2016 @ Columbus Blue Jackets 7:00 p.m. @ Nationwide Arena
Stats: Goals- Andreas Athanasiou (6), Pavel Datsyuk (14), Tomas Tatar (19) Assists- Datsyuk (26), Mike Green (23), Gustav Nyquist (22), Riley Sheahan (8), Tatar (22). Goaltender- Petr Mrazek L (26-15-6) 42 saves on 46 shots.
