http://pistonsnationblog.com/2009/11/30 ... top-hawks/Pistons top Hawks
There was a lot to like yesterday afternoon at the Palace as the short-handed Pistons showed tons of heart in defeating the Atlanta Hawks 88-94. John Kuester seen a way to balance the lineup with three of his stars out. Chucky Atkins got the starting point guard duties -his first start since 2007- freeing up Rodney Stuckey to get more penetration than a former Hawks’ cheerleader. Rodney made it job #1 to take it right to the Hawks, and that he did. Stuck led the Pistons with 23 points, and he also had 8 of the team’s 18 assists. Kuester also promoted Jason Maxiell to the front line. With Charlie V (13 pts) joining Will Bynum (19 pts) in the second unit the Pistons got more firepower off the bench than usual.
The only other thing you need to know about this game is that the Pistons outrebounded the Hawks 53-27. Twenty-three rebounds come on the offensive glass, giving the Pistons a 30-10 advantage on second chance points. If you guessed that Ben Wallace had a lot ot do with that, then you’ve been paying attention this year. Ben is proving he ages like wine. Big Ben pulled down 18 boards, 11 of them offensive! Not to mention 2 assists, 2 steals, and 10 points. Winning the board war was so crucial against the Hawks because they’re such an efficient offensive club. If you’ve seen any of their games this season you’d note that they’re not in there wasting offensive possessions. Jonas Jerebko (10 pts, 11 rbs.), Jason Maxiell (6 rbs.), Charlie V (6 rbs.), and Kwame Brown (5 rbs.) all had a great time at the rebounding party at the Palace.
And just like that the we defeated the East’s hottest team and ended our own 7 game losing streak. Charlie Villanueva suffered a broken nose when he collided with Ben Wallace’s hip in the fourth quarter. We should hear more on that sometime today.
