Jalen Johnson recorded his first career triple-double with 28 points, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists, and the Atlanta Hawks defeated the Detroit Pistons 121-113 on Wednesday night to secure a spot in the Eastern Conference play-in round. Malachi Flynn scored 50 points in the game.
“It is always good to have an opportunity to play in the postseason,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “If we’re ninth, 10th, sixth, whatever it is. Hopefully we can continue to get better and we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
The Hawks, who have won six of their past seven games, were led by De’Andre Hunter, who finished with 26 points, and Dejounte Murray, who finished with 24 points and 11 assists.
Flynn was 9 for 12 at the line and 18 for 25 from the field, matching his career high of 27 points. For a reserve, the 50 points set a franchise record.
In 34 minutes, he added a season-high six rebounds, five assists, and five steals.
In the past 11 games, the Pistons have suffered 10 losses.
“Right now, its tough because at the end of the day you want to win,” Flynn said. “But it does feel good to kind of take in the moment. I’m sure a couple of days from now, it will feel really good.”
For the Pistons, Jalen Duren and Marcus Sasser each scored eleven points.
Johnson set a career high with his 11 assists. His biggest play was an alley-oop to Murray in the second quarter that finished a fast break and forced a Pistons timeout.
“He’s a basketball player,” Snyder said. “He can shoot, pass, handle. He doesn’t predetermine what he is going to do. … He played a really, really impressive game.”
A left knee ailment forced Cade Cunningham, who scores 22.7 points a night, to be a late scratch from Detroit’s starting lineup.
Despite starting the game 1 for 11 from 3-point range, the Hawks managed to take a 59–50 advantage into halftime.
Flynn helped the Pistons answer with points from all over the floor whenever the Hawks began to pull away.
“He was making contested shots and he got to the foul line, which got him going,” Snyder said. “We tried to get more aggressive on him and impact him, and he still made plays. He played great.”
Late in the fourth quarter, the Pistons closed the gap to five points, but they were unable to go any closer.
