hawks destroying pistons

[ducks]

24 points early 3 quarter lead for hawks :lol

[Kori Ellis]

The Hawks are shooting over 65% and the Pistons under 25%. The Hawks will probably still find a way to lose. :lol

[ducks]

winning by 22 with 4 minutes left

and spur fans think spurs have problems

[ducks]

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- Rookie Josh Smith replaced Kenny Anderson at point guard and had career highs of 12 points and four blocks in his first NBA start as the Atlanta Hawks stunned the Detroit Pistons 88-72 Friday night.

The Hawks, who led by as many as 29, won for just the second time in 12 games and held Detroit to a franchise record for fewest points in a home game.

Tony Delk and Predrag Drobjnak had 16 points each for Atlanta, which had five players in double figures.

Richard Hamilton led all scorers with 24.

Detroit played without two key big men -- Rasheed Wallace (hamstring) and Antonio McDyess (calf) -- and spent most of the game with Ben Wallace as its only veteran inside player. Darko Milicic was forced to play a career-high 24 minutes, scoring four points.

The Hawks replaced Anderson in the starting lineup with the 6-foot-9 Smith, and Boris Diaw was Atlanta's shortest starter at 6-foot-8. The big lineup paid immediate dividends, as Smith blocked three shots in the first quarter and the Hawks shot 66.7 percent on their way to a 32-20 lead.

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Things didn't get any better for the defending NBA champions in the second quarter, as Atlanta shot 62.5 percent and held the Pistons to just 4-for-17 shooting from the field. The Hawks led 56-38 at intermission, getting 12 points off the bench from Drobnjak.

Atlanta removed any hopes of a Pistons' rally by moving the lead to 68-40 at the midpoint of the third quarter. Smith, who turned 19 this week, punctuated the rout with two spectacular dunks early in the period.

Notes

Hawks coach Mike Woodson and assistant Herb Brown received their championship rings from Pistons coach Larry Brown in a pre-game ceremony. Woodson and Herb Brown were both assistants with Detroit last season. ... The Hawks got halfcourt buzzer-beating shots in each of the first two quarters -- by Tony Delk at the end of the first and Antoine Walker in the second. ... Pistons rookie Carlos Delfino did not play in the second half after straining his knee. ... Detroit had scored 72 points three times at home, most recently Dec. 12, 2003 against Seattle. ... Smith played a career-high 27 minutes.