Pistons let lead slip away, get blown away in overtime

Auburn Hills— The Pistons tried to turn back the clock Friday night with "'80s Night at The Palace," but it led to a familiar result.

This time, the Hawks were in town and exploded with a 12-2 scoring run, part of a 20-point overtime, and escaped with a 107-101 victory

It sunk the Pistons' record to a dismal 4-16.

"We kicked the game, there's no doubt about it," coach Lawrence Frank said. "You have to have instant amnesia. You always have to move on to the next play."

The game was tied at 87 after regulation. Not so long afterward, Josh Smith stunned the crowd with a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired for a 10-point cushion with 90 seconds left in overtime.

Joe Johnson was clearly the most dominant player on the floor, with a game-high 30 points, and 3-pointer that send the game into overtime.

Any hope for the Pistons to make it a one-possession game in overtime ended with about five seconds left as rookie point guard Brandon Knight missed a double-pump 3-point attempt.

Johnson's overtime-sending 3-pointer with 1.9 seconds left in regulation, sailed over the outstretched arms of Rodney Stuckey, and exposed the Pistons at a confusing time.

Stuckey could have prevented the shot because the Pistons had a foul to give.

"Basically, you can't think about it," Knight said of watching the game going into the extra period.

"As a team, I think it was a little bit demoralizing when Johnson hit that shot."

The Pistons got off to a good start, and led by as many as 12 points before the collapse ensued.

They attacked inside early for a 46-35 halftime lead and didn't trail the entire second quarter.

Greg Monroe's jump-hook late in the second quarter gave Detroit a 37-33 cushion. He finished with 22 points.

At that point, with about two minutes before halftime, the Pistons had scored 22 points in the paint.

Surprisingly, Jason Maxiell led the way inside with 12 first-half points off the bench, and Monroe had nine with eight rebounds

Maxiell, a six-year veteran, finished with a season-high 19 points.

The Pistons took a 17-15 lead after the first quarter, capitalizing on eight Hawks turnovers.

Seeing the effort fall apart late frustrated forward Austin Daye, who admitted he didn't know the Pistons had a foul to give before Johnson's shot sent the game into overtime.

Fresh off a Wednesday's career-high 28-point effort against the Heat, Daye failed to score in the first half, but finished with 12.

His first field goal, a mid-range jumper, came with 10:09 left in the game.

"Everybody took part of the blame tonight," Daye said.

Pistons at 76ers

Tip-off: 7 tonight, Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia

TV/radio: FSD/97.1

Outlook: The Pistons have now lost 13 of their last 15 games, and still have not broken 100 in regulation play. … The 76ers beat the Pistons, 96-73, in Philadelphia on Jan. 6.