Josh Smith had 22 points and 11 rebounds and Al Horford added 18 and eight as the Atlanta Hawks remained undefeated by rallying for a 94-85 victory over the winless Detroit Pistons on Wednesday.
Joe Johnson was just 5-of-15 from the floor but finished with 14 points and eight assists and Zaza Pachulia chipped in 12 points off the bench for the Hawks (5-0). Ben Gordon scored 22 points and Tayshaun Prince added 17 for the Pistons (0-5), who are off to their worst start in 30 years.
Detroit looked like it was finally taking control of a back-and-forth contest when it opened an 81-76 lead on Tayshaun Prince’s 3-pointer with 6:13 left. But Atlanta came right back, getting six points from Horford and closing the game with an 18-4 run.
The Pistons led, 48-44, at the half thanks to 14 points from the bench in the second quarter. The Hawks bounced back in the third, getting four points from Marvin Williams in a 10-3 run to jump back on top, 65-61, with just over two minutes left.
But Detroit did not back down, ripping off a 10-2 burst to start the final period. The Hawks tied it again at 76-76 with 8:15 remaining before the Pistons jumped out with five straight points.