AUBURN HILLS — The foul the Detroit Pistons could have given in the final seconds of the fourth quarter went unwhistled Friday night, and whether through miscommunication or inability to jump out on Joe Johnson’s long bomb to force overtime, it cost them a game.
Johnson’s 3-pointer with 1.9 seconds remaining in regulation forced overtime, and the Atlanta Hawks cruised from there in a 107-101 victory at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
The Pistons had a foul to give after the Hawks’ final fourth-quarter possession began with 12.9 seconds left but never used it.
“We had a foul to give,” Pistons coach Lawrence Frank said. “Obviously, we wanted to foul. We didn’t foul. But look, we kicked the game, no doubt about it. It’s a game we obviously should’ve won. We didn’t.
“It’s very, very disappointing. It’s yet another good performance that gets wasted, not in the win column.”
Pistons guard Brandon Knight said the foul to give was discussed earlier, during a timeout with 33.5 seconds left.
“I know we talked about it a little bit, but I think we just decided to play it straight up, and he ended up hitting a good shot,” Knight said.
From the time the Pistons took an 8-7 lead until Johnson’s bomb, the Hawks never led and tied the game only twice.
But Rodney Stuckey’s turnover led to Johnson’s 3-pointer in his face moments later, tying the game 87-87 at the end of regulation. A wild shot by Knight on the Pistons’ final possession of regulation was off.
“You have an All-Star like Joe Johnson, that happens,” Pistons forward Jason Maxiell said.
HAWKS 107, PISTONS 101
Records: Pistons 4-16, Hawks 14-6
Big shot: Center Greg Monroe overcame a slow start that saw him go 0-for-5 from the field during a scoreless first quarter to finish with 22 points and 11 rebounds, including four on the offensive end of the floor. After the opening period, he shot 10-for-15 from the floor.
Super sub: Forward Jason Maxiell entered the game averaging 4.1 points but gave the Pistons a huge lift by coming off the bench to score a season-high 19 points, 12 of them in the second quarter. He also grabbed four of his eight rebounds on the offensive end to share game-high honors in that department with Monroe.
Century mark: For the first time all season, the Pistons scored 100 points. Credit rookie point guard Brandon Knight with getting them there as he hit a trio of 3-pointers during a 33.3-second flurry in OT, the final one making it 107-101 with 23.1 seconds left. Knight also had a career-high eight assists.
Injury update: Ben Gordon (shoulder) missed his fourth game while Will Bynum (foot) sat for the sixth time. Charlie Villanueva (ankle) has been out indefinitely. The Pistons also played without Tayshaun Prince, who missed his second straight game while tending to an unspecified family matter.
Frank-ly speaking: “We kicked the game, there was no doubt about it. It’s a game we obviously should have won. We didn’t. It’s very, very disappointing. It’s yet another good performance that gets wasted, not in the win column. We put ourselves in position, up six with 39.8 to go (in regulation), and we lost the game.”
Next up: 7 p.m. Saturday at Philadelphia 76ers (Fox Sports Detroit)
Overtime started with a Zaza Pachulia dunk for the Hawks and a Maxiell missed layup — a mini-epidemic for the Pistons — and it only got worse for Detroit.
Pachulia had another dunk in overtime, followed by 3-pointers from Marvin Williams and Josh Smith, as the Hawks blew open a 99-89 lead.
Frank said the Pistons “were defeated once the game went into overtime” on Johnson’s shot.
“As a team,” Knight said, “I think it was a little bit demoralizing when he hit that shot. But that’s something that we can’t be doing in the future. We’ve got to keep plugging.”
With 39.9 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the Pistons looked like they might be headed for victory when Austin Daye’s jumper gave them an 85-79 lead. But for the second consecutive game against a quality opponent, the Pistons couldn’t protect a late lead, just as happened in Wednesday’s loss to the Miami Heat.
Williams responded to Daye’s jumper with a 27-foot 3-pointer with 33.5 seconds left, the play that seemed to rankle Frank more than any.
“We hit the bucket with 39 seconds to go; they’re walking the ball up the court,” Frank said, emphasizing the last few words disdainfully, “and we don’t get matched up, and we give Marvin Williams the 3.”
The loss in the first game of a five-game, six-day stretch spoiled big efforts by Maxiell, who had 19 points and eight rebounds — including 12 in the second quarter, when he surpassed his previous season-high of 11 points — and Greg Monroe, who overcame some early struggles to finish around the basket to finish with 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Pistons. Knight had 20 points, five rebounds and eight assists.
The Pistons jumped to a 46-35 halftime lead by scoring 15 points off of 13 Atlanta turnovers, which is what the Hawks averaged for a game entering Saturday, second-fewest in the NBA. The Hawks finished with 19 turnovers.
The Hawks rallied, largely behind Johnson, who had 28 of his 30 points after halftime. But after Atlanta drew even at 70-70, the Pistons scored eight consecutive points and had the game in their hands with less than 8 minutes left.
“The moment of truth, the last 6 minutes of the game, that’s when we have to make winning plays,” Frank said, “and we left them out there again.”
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