Dewayne Dedmond, Hawks hand Pistons 2nd straight loss

Share

ATLANTA -- Dewayne Dedmon gave Atlanta the lead with a three-point play and then padded the margin with a 3-pointer, lifting the Hawks to a 118-115 win over Blake Griffin and Detroit Pistons on Sunday.

Dedmon matched his career high with 20 points and had 13 rebounds in his matchup with Andre Drummond, who had 25 points and 15 rebounds for Detroit.

Dennis Schroder had 23 points, including six free throws in the final 20 seconds, for Atlanta.

Dedmon's three-point play gave Atlanta a 109-107 lead with 1:34 remaining. Following a missed jumper by Jameer Nelson, Dedmon sank a 3-pointer from the corner to push the lead to five points.

Griffin, who had 23 points, answered with a 3-pointer for Detroit. Schroder made two free throws for a 114-110 lead. Griffin's layup cut the Atlanta lead to two points before Schroder added two more free throws with 9.2 seconds remaining for a 116-112 advantage.

Anthony Tolliver missed a 3-pointer for Detroit before Schroder iced the win with two more free throws. Griffin added a 3 as the final buzzer sounded.

The Pistons have lost two straight after winning five in a row, including four with the newly acquired Griffin (see full recap).

New-look Cavs roll Celtics on Pierce's day
BOSTON -- LeBron James quieted a Celtics crowd that came to celebrate Paul Pierce on Sunday, scoring 24 points with 10 assists and eight rebounds to give new-look Cleveland a 121-99 victory over Boston in an individual performance reminiscent of the rivalry's heyday.

And this time, Pierce was sitting courtside in street clothes, unable to do anything about it.

James shook off a first-quarter leg injury to score 13 in the second quarter -- eight of them during a 13-2 run that turned a one-point deficit into a double-digit lead. The Celtics made it 64-55 on the first basket of the third quarter but never got within 10 again.

As the Cavaliers opened a 27-point lead midway through the fourth, the crowd began chanting "We want Paul Pierce!" But he remained in his baseline seat, awaiting the postgame ceremony that would raise his No. 34 to the TD Garden rafters -- the 23rd person in the history of the NBA's most-decorated franchise to be so honored.

The current Celtics, who have spent much of the season in first place in the East, could have used him (see full recap).

Oladipo powers Pacers past Knicks
INDIANAPOLIS -- Victor Oladipo had 30 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, and the Indiana Pacers beat the New York Knicks 121-113 on Sunday.

Bojan Bogdanovic made four 3-pointers and finished with 20 points and Thaddeus Young added 18 points, 11 rebounds and five assists for the Pacers, who have won six of eight.

Enes Kanter and Tim Hardaway, Jr. each scored 17 points, and Michael Beasley had 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Knicks, whose losing streak reached six games.

The Pacers went on a 14-2 run in the second quarter and took a 53-45 lead on an alley-oop layup by Young with 5:45 remaining in the opening half.

Stephenson's 3-pointer with 3:44 to play in the second quarter put Indiana ahead 58-55, and the Pacers never trailed the rest of the way.

They led 68-62 at halftime and put together a 13-2 run in the third quarter to pull away. The Pacers led by as much as 20 when Domantas Sabonis scored to make it 90-70 with 4:10 left in the third (see full recap).

Contact Us