By: Chandler Johnson (@1788sports, @ChandlerJ1788)

In a high scoring first period, the Hawks tied the Pistons at 29-29. Ersan Ilyasova was shooting sharp with two made threes and another field goal, which gave him 8 points in the quarter. Taurean Prince and Dewayne Dedmon also put up good numbers with 7 and 4 points respectively. Anthony Tolliver and Tobias Harris of the Pistons were carving up Atlanta’s defense with 9 points each. The defense needed to adjust to keep these two from taking control of the rest of the night.

At the end of the half, the Pistons were able to edge out the Hawks 48-43. Pistons forward Henry Ellenson was able to give his team a quick boost with 6 points in his 7 minutes played in the second quarter. Meanwhile, Harris and Tolliver both entered double-digits on the scoreline. Former first-round pick of the Hawks John Jenkins was able to get on the scoreline with an and-one as he tries to fight for a roster spot and rookie John “The Baptist” Collins was able to score a pair of baskets and grab a pair of boards as well. Deandre Bembry of the Hawks was finally able to return to the Hawks and play some minutes in the second quarter after being injured in the previous games and he was able to grab 4 rebounds during his minutes.

The Pistons came into the second half with something to prove, as they outscored the Hawks 37-21 in the third period. Ellenson, Smith, Bradley, and Johnson on the Pistons all entered in the double digits in scoring. The Hawks were, well, terrible to say the least. They entered under 40% shooting after the third period. However, rookie Tyler Dorsey was able to score 6 points and Malcolm Delaney increased his point total to 15 after the end of the period. But when Delaney is your highest offensive performer, that is usually not a good sign. Personally, I’d rather him finding open looks to rookies Collins and Dorsey.

The Hawks shooting improved in the last period, but the Pistons were able essentially to match their offensive production. The Pistons were able to win 109-87. Rookie John Collins converted an abysmal 2 of 6 free throws. Hopefully, this will not be what we will be seeing throughout the season, but he did score 10 points. Rookie Luke Kennard for the Pistons was able to score 9 points in the last half. Some good news is that, while the Hawks did not play well, normal starters Dennis Schroder and Kent Bazemore weren’t playing, so maybe that is why the defense and shooting was not as good tonight. Nevertheless, the Hawks are through with their preseason road trip and will be playing the Memphis Grizzlies at home Monday on the 9th.