BOX SCORE
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Every game counts the same but some mean a little more than others.
The Pistons' played arguably their best game of the season Tuesday night, thoroughly manhandling the Atlanta Hawks, 103-80.
It not only marked the Pistons' first win against a team with a winning record in 13 tries, it was the first game after their debacle Saturday night when the let the Toronto Raptors come back from a 22-point deficit with one minute left in the third quarter. The Raptors won by four, 120-116, but should have won by seven. Ben Wallace made a desperation three-point heave for the final margin.
Rip Hamilton, who at times has looked uninspired and at other times disconnected, kicked the Pistons off with 15 first-quarter points, giving his team a 28-19 lead. Hamilton finished with a team-high 24.
"We played well," said Tayshaun Prince, who had 10 points, five rebounds, four assists and a block. "We got off to a good start. Obviously Rip got us going and carried us in the first quarter. We just took off from there."
Charlie Villanueva had 23 points and 11 rebounds as the Pistons out-rebounded the Hawks, 43-31.
Of course, the Hawks didn't have a 16-9 record coming in for no reason. They have a lot of options and those options made it a one-point game, 49-48, with 8:28 left in the third.
Instead of folding as they did against the Raptors, the Pistons responded by outscoring the Hawks, 15-13, the rest of the quarter, taking a three-point lead into the fourth. In the fourth, they outscored the Hawks, 39-19, led by Villanueva's 16 points.
"We were poised," Villanueva said. "We knew that's a team that's capable of making a run. We responded pretty well. We didn't panic at all. We've been in that position plenty of times, though. I'm glad we responded pretty well and got the win."
Coach John Kuester said he was a little concerned in the third quarter that the Pistons weren't playing with the same energy that had gotten them the lead. He was pleased with the response to the Hawks' run.
"It was huge," Kuester said. "This game is very fragile. Don't kid yourself. All of a sudden, everybody is second guessing everything. Coach Dean Smith has always said it's better to win and learn from your mistakes than lose and learn from your mistakes. I thought that was so true. Because you're able to look at things a little bit in a different perspective. That was something that was important because they made that 11-0 run and we realized and did a great job of executing after that."
A major key to the victory was the play and presence of Tracy McGrady, who had a season-high 16 points and a season-high tying six rebounds. McGrady made 4-of-5 three-pointers in the final quarter.
"It feels good to blow out a team when we had so many leads and blown those type of leads," McGrady said. "It feels good to have this type of win. We're capable of doing that. We have to realize how we did it and I think if we go back and look at some film and see what it takes to be a consistent ballclub, be able to execute the way we did offensively, that's what we're going to have to do."
McGrady, who is making a comeback from microfracture surgery in his left knee, appears to be returning to the form that made him famous.
"I think every game he just keeps getting better and better," Villanueva said. "He just seemed comfortable out there, he was shooting the ball pretty well. Hopefully this is going to be the T-Mac that we expected."
If McGrady can continue to play at this level, providing leadership and a calming influence when things aren't going well, perhaps the Pistons can dig themselves out of the 8-18 hole they've dug.
In addition to the rebounding, the Pistons were excelling in every aspect of the game. They finished with just 12 turnovers, they had 26 assists on 37 field goals (Rodney Stuckey had 10), they shot well (47 percent from the field, 45.5 percent from three-point range, 90.5 percent from the free-throw line) and defended.
"I think we're a lot better than what our record shows," Villanueva said. "I desperately wanted to get a win today, especially the way we played in the Toronto game. I think we did a great job, responded pretty well. I think this was what Pistons basketball is all about. We did a little bit of everything -- we passed the ball, we rebounded well, we defended, we scored. I think the way we played today is what I envisioned us to be."
Can they keep it up? It's too early to say that yet, but it's certainly a good start.
Dumars speaks
Aside from what he witnessed Tuesday, Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars has not enjoyed this season very much.
Dumars spoke to Matt Dery on the pre-game show on 97.1 The Ticket.
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