NBA: Hawks get three players with 20+ points in rout of Pistons

After the trade deadline came and went with Josh Smith still on their roster, the Atlanta Hawks improved their record to 3-0, the latest coming in a 114-103 blowout of the Detroit Pistons, Monday (Tuesday, PHL time) at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Detroit. [Related: NBA 2012-13 trade season recap] Many expected Smith, whose contract is up at the end of the current season, to be moved prior to the trade deadline last Thursday (early Friday, PHL time). But after Atlanta didn't find an offer worth jumping at, the team opted to keep him instead, and the result has been a nice little win streak, improving their record to 32-23. Detroit on the other hand fell to 22-36. The first quarter though seemed to be all about the Pistons, as they led by as much as seven early on. However, an 8-1 surge by the Hawks tied the game at 24-all, courtesy of a Josh Smith lay-up with 49 seconds left in the period. Then, reserve guard Devin Harris gave them the lead for good, canning a triple on the next possession. Two charities by Jeff Teague in the second period gave Atlanta their first double-digit lead, 49-39, though Rodney Stuckey quickly responded on the other end by getting to the line and hitting two of his own. Scores by Smith and Al Horford boosted their advantage to 12, 55-43, and then after Detroit brought it down to seven, a pair of triples from Teague and Kyle Korver marked it at 10, 61-51, with a half still to play. More Teague free throws gave Atlanta their biggest lead of the game, 86-60, with 3:37 left in the third. Only garbage time baskets in the fourth by Jonas Jerebko and Viacheslav Kravtsov managed to make the final score more reasonable. Al Horford had a monster double-double with 23 points and 22 rebounds, plus two steals and two blocks. Josh Smith also had 23, along with seven rebounds, four assists, a block and a steal. Jeff Teague also had a double-double, finishing with 20 markers and 12 dimes. Kyle Korver poured in 15, all from beyond the arc. Rodney Stuckey paced the Pistons with 22 points. Greg Monroe finished with 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists, while Kyle Singler shot 5-of-11 from the field on the way to 13 points. The Hawks out-scored the Pistons in the middle two quarters 61-46, to pave the way to their easy win. - AMD, GMA News