Game ID: 22501051
Atlanta Hawks @ Detroit Pistons
Wednesday, March 25, 2026 at 7:00 PM ET
Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, MI
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 OT1 Final
DET 29 26 40 26 8 129ATL 37 36 25 23 9 130
ATL @ DET ScoutingATL @ DET Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
DET availability going into 3/17 · 1 day's restBACK Thompson back 3/15 after 5, 24 min since (90% of 27)
BACK LeVert back 3/13 after 3, 22 min since (115% of 19)
NEW Sasser 12 to 19 min over the last 5
DET availability going into 3/19 · 1 day's restOUT Stewart missed 2 since 3/15, out tonight
BACK Thompson back 3/15 after 5, 26 min since (96% of 27)
BACK LeVert back 3/13 after 3, 21 min since (113% of 19)
NEW Sasser 12 to 20 min over the last 5
DET availability going into 3/20 · back-to-backOUT Stewart missed 3 since 3/15, out tonight
BACK Thompson back 3/15 after 5, 25 min since (94% of 27)
BACK LeVert back 3/13 after 3, 21 min since (112% of 19)
NEW Sasser 12 to 19 min over the last 5
DET availability going into 3/23 · 2 days' restOUT Cunningham missed 2 since 3/19, out tonight
OUT Stewart missed 4 since 3/15, out tonight
BACK Thompson back 3/15 after 5, 25 min since (94% of 27)
BACK LeVert back 3/13 after 3, 21 min since (112% of 19)
NEW Jenkins 21 to 28 min over the last 4
NEW Sasser 12 to 18 min over the last 4
DET availability going into 3/25 · 1 day's restOUT Cunningham missed 3 since 3/19, out tonight
OUT Stewart missed 5 since 3/15, out tonight
OUT Sasser missed 2 since 3/20, out tonight
BACK Thompson back 3/15 after 5, 27 min since (102% of 27)
NEW Jenkins 21 to 33 min over the last 4
DET availability going into 3/26 · back-to-backOUT Cunningham missed 4 since 3/19, out tonight
OUT Stewart missed 6 since 3/15, out tonight
OUT Sasser missed 3 since 3/20, returns tonight: 16 min (137% of 12)
NEW Jenkins 21 to 35 min over the last 5
DET availability going into 3/28 · 1 day's restOUT Cunningham missed 5 since 3/19, out tonight
OUT Stewart missed 7 since 3/15, out tonight
BACK Sasser back 3/26 after 3, 16 min since (137% of 12)
NEW Jenkins 21 to 38 min over the last 5
NEW Huerter 19 to 24 min over the last 4
DET availability going into 3/30 · 1 day's restOUT Cunningham missed 6 since 3/19, out tonight
OUT Stewart missed 8 since 3/15, out tonight
BACK Sasser back 3/26 after 3, 13 min since (114% of 12)
NEW Jenkins 21 to 37 min over the last 5
NEW Huerter 19 to 24 min over the last 4
DET availability going into 3/31 · back-to-backOUT Cunningham missed 7 since 3/19, out tonight
OUT Stewart missed 9 since 3/15, out tonight
BACK Sasser back 3/26 after 3, 15 min since (127% of 12)
NEW Duren 28 to 34 min over the last 4
NEW Jenkins 21 to 36 min over the last 5
NEW Huerter 19 to 27 min over the last 5
ATL availability going into 3/18 · 1 day's restOUT Newell missed 7 since 3/01, out tonight
BACK Kuminga back 3/12 after 3, 19 min since (83% of 23)
BACK Dennis back 3/14 after 22, 3 min since (25% of 12)
BACK Koloko back 3/14 after 3, 3 min since (26% of 11)
ATL availability going into 3/20 · 1 day's restOUT Dennis missed 2 since 3/16, out tonight
OUT Koloko missed 2 since 3/16, out tonight
OUT Newell missed 8 since 3/01, out tonight
BACK Kuminga back 3/12 after 3, 19 min since (81% of 23)
ATL availability going into 3/21 · back-to-backOUT Dennis missed 3 since 3/16, out tonight
OUT Koloko missed 3 since 3/16, out tonight
OUT Newell missed 9 since 3/01, out tonight
BACK Kuminga back 3/12 after 3, 19 min since (81% of 23)
ATL availability going into 3/23 · 1 day's restOUT Dennis missed 4 since 3/16, out tonight
OUT Koloko missed 4 since 3/16, returns tonight: 7 min (59% of 11)
OUT Newell missed 10 since 3/01, out tonight
ATL availability going into 3/25 · 1 day's restOUT Johnson missed 2 since 3/21, returns tonight: 42 min (119% of 35)
OUT Dennis missed 5 since 3/16, out tonight
OUT Newell missed 11 since 3/01, out tonight
BACK Koloko back 3/23 after 4, 7 min since (59% of 11)
ATL availability going into 3/27 · 1 day's restOUT Dennis missed 6 since 3/16, out tonight
OUT Newell missed 12 since 3/01, out tonight
BACK Johnson back 3/25 after 2, 42 min since (119% of 35)
BACK Koloko back 3/23 after 4, 7 min since (59% of 11)
ATL availability going into 3/28 · back-to-backOUT Dennis missed 7 since 3/16, out tonight
OUT Koloko missed 2 since 3/25, returns tonight: 11 min (99% of 11)
OUT Newell missed 13 since 3/01, out tonight
BACK Johnson back 3/25 after 2, 39 min since (112% of 35)
ATL availability going into 3/30 · 1 day's restOUT Dennis missed 8 since 3/16, out tonight
OUT Newell missed 14 since 3/01, out tonight
BACK Johnson back 3/25 after 2, 39 min since (109% of 35)
BACK Koloko back 3/23 after 4, 9 min since (79% of 11)
NEW Landale 19 to 25 min over the last 4
ATL availability going into 4/01 · 1 day's restOUT Dennis missed 9 since 3/16, out tonight
OUT Newell missed 15 since 3/01, returns tonight: 3 min (25% of 11)
BACK Johnson back 3/25 after 2, 38 min since (108% of 35)
BACK Koloko back 3/23 after 4, 9 min since (79% of 11)
NEW Landale 19 to 28 min over the last 3
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Detroit comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 108, shooting 48 percent and 35 from three, 27 free throws a game; Duren at 25 and Jenkins at 19 a game. That is 4 straight wins. It has won the glass by 4 a night. Without Cunningham (3 straight), Stewart (5 straight). One day's rest. Atlanta comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 125 a night and allowing 113, shooting 50 percent and 38 from three, 21 free throws a game; Alexander-Walker at 25 and Johnson at 18 a game. It has won the glass by 4 a night. Without Johnson (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Detroit wins, and the game turns on the line, where Detroit takes 27 free throws a game to Atlanta's 21. Call it Detroit 117, Atlanta 114, Atlanta keeping it close.
3/17 @ WAS 130-117 — DET notes
DET won 130-117. DET shot 51% (46 of 90) to WAS's 49%, 11 of 27 from three, and went to the line 32 times to WAS's 19 — 27 points from the stripe to their 15. The glass went 50-35 for them. Duren led with 36 (13 of 17, 10 of 11 at the line); Jenkins added 15, Harris 12. The hinge was Q3, 37-26: a lead of 6 became 17, and the lead reached 22. Harris was the night's best plus/minus at +17.
3/19 @ WAS 117-95 — DET notes
DET won 117-95. DET shot 45% (44 of 97) to WAS's 44%, 9 of 30 from three, and went to the line 26 times to WAS's 12 — 20 points from the stripe to their 8. DET turned it over 10 times to WAS's 19. The glass went 56-35 for them. Duren led with 24 (9 of 15, 6 of 8 at the line); Reed added 17, Robinson 14. The hinge was Q1, 35-14: from level to 21 ahead, and the lead reached 25. Huerter was the night's best plus/minus at +26.
3/20 vs GSW 115-101 — DET notes
DET won 115-101. DET shot 52% (45 of 86) to GSW's 46%, 5 of 21 from three. DET turned it over 13 times to GSW's 25. Duren led with 23 (8 of 12, 7 of 9 at the line); Jenkins added 22, Reed 15. The hinge was Q2, 36-24: DET came in trailing by 5 and left it ahead by 7, and the lead reached 24. Robinson was the night's best plus/minus at +37.
3/23 vs LAL 113-110 — DET notes
DET won 113-110. DET shot 45% (40 of 88) to LAL's 48%, 11 of 26 from three, and got to the line 24 times to LAL's 31. Jenkins led with 30 (11 of 18, 4 of 5 from three); Duren added 20, Harris 14. The hinge was Q2, 42-25: DET came in trailing by 4 and left it ahead by 13, and the lead reached 16. Green was the night's best plus/minus at +14.
3/25 vs ATL 129-130 — DET notes
DET lost 129-130 in 1 overtime. DET shot 51% (52 of 102) to ATL's 48%, 9 of 33 from three. DET turned it over 14 times to ATL's 20. Duren led with 26 (9 of 15, 8 of 9 at the line); Harris added 22, Jenkins 19. Q3 was theirs, 40-25, the deficit cut from 18 to 3, but the other 4 periods went 105-89 against them.
3/26 vs NOP — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Detroit comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 111, shooting 49 percent and 33 from three, 26 free throws a game; Duren at 26 and Jenkins at 19 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Cunningham (4 straight), Stewart (6 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. New Orleans comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 110, shooting 49 percent and 37 from three, 22 free throws a game; Bey at 21 and Williamson at 21 a game. Without Poole (2 straight), McGowens (7 straight), Jordan (6 straight). One day's rest.
So: Detroit wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Detroit has been plus-5 a night and New Orleans minus-2 and the arc, New Orleans at 37 percent from three to Detroit's 33. Call it Detroit 117, New Orleans 113, New Orleans keeping it close.
3/28 @ MIN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Minnesota comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 105, shooting 46 percent and 37 from three, 23 free throws a game; Randle at 21 and Dosunmu at 19 a game. Without Edwards (5 straight). 2 days' rest. Detroit comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 109, shooting 50 percent and 36 from three, 24 free throws a game; Duren at 25 and Jenkins at 20 a game. Without Cunningham (5 straight), Stewart (7 straight). One day's rest.
So: Minnesota wins, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it Minnesota 114, Detroit 113, Detroit keeping it close.
3/30 @ OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 109, shooting 50 percent and 36 from three, 27 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 30 and Jal. Williams at 16 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Second night of a back-to-back. Detroit comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 107, shooting 51 percent and 37 from three, 22 free throws a game; Duren at 22 and Jenkins at 21 a game. Without Cunningham (6 straight), Stewart (8 straight). One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the turnovers, Detroit giving it away 15 times a game to OKC's 11 and the glass, where OKC has been plus-5 a night and Detroit plus-1. Call it OKC 115, Detroit 112, Detroit keeping it close.
3/31 vs TOR — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Detroit comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 110, shooting 49 percent and 39 from three, 21 free throws a game; Duren at 22 and Jenkins at 19 a game. Without Cunningham (7 straight), Stewart (9 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Toronto comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 112, shooting 52 percent and 41 from three, 20 free throws a game; Barrett at 19 and Barnes at 18 a game. Without Quickley (4 straight). One day's rest.
So: Detroit wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Detroit has been plus-2 a night and Toronto minus-2. Call it Detroit 115, Toronto 113, Toronto keeping it close.
3/18 @ DAL 135-120 — ATL notes
ATL won 135-120. ATL shot 54% (55 of 102) to DAL's 49%, 14 of 35 from three, and got to the line 14 times to DAL's 29. ATL turned it over 11 times to DAL's 18. McCollum led with 24 (9 of 14, 0 of 3 from three, 6 of 7 at the line); Alexander-Walker added 22, Daniels 19. The hinge was Q3, 34-26: a lead of 11 became 19. McCollum was the night's best plus/minus at +24.
3/20 @ HOU 95-117 — ATL notes
ATL lost 95-117. ATL shot 42% (36 of 85) to HOU's 51%, 9 of 35 from three, and got to the line 17 times to HOU's 28. The glass went 37-51 against them. Alexander-Walker led with 21 (6 of 12, 1 of 3 from three, 8 of 9 at the line); McCollum added 17, Risacher 16. Q4 was theirs, 19-16, the deficit cut from 25 to 22, but the other 3 periods went 101-76 against them. Johnson's -27 in 32 minutes was the worst on the floor.
3/21 vs GSW 126-110 — ATL notes
ATL won 126-110. ATL shot 54% (48 of 89) to GSW's 50%, 13 of 40 from three. The glass went 41-29 for them. Daniels led with 28 (12 of 17, 2 of 5 from three); McCollum added 23, Alexander-Walker 17. The hinge was Q3, 39-20: a lead of 2 became 21, and the lead reached 28. Daniels was the night's best plus/minus at +35.
3/23 vs MEM 146-107 — ATL notes
ATL won 146-107. ATL shot 53% (49 of 92) to MEM's 42%, 25 of 54 from three. ATL turned it over 11 times to MEM's 21. The glass went 44-34 for them. Alexander-Walker led with 26 (8 of 11, 4 of 6 from three, 6 of 6 at the line); Okongwu added 16, Kuminga 16. The hinge was Q3, 45-29: a lead of 25 became 41, and the lead reached 44. McCollum was the night's best plus/minus at +31.
3/25 @ DET 130-129 — ATL notes
ATL won 130-129 in 1 overtime. ATL shot 48% (50 of 105) to DET's 51%, 18 of 52 from three. ATL turned it over 20 times to DET's 14, and DET turned those into 12 steals. Johnson led with 27 (9 of 18, 2 of 6 from three, 7 of 8 at the line); McCollum added 27, Alexander-Walker 21. The hinge was Q2, 36-26: a lead of 8 became 18, and the lead reached 21.
3/27 @ BOS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 107, shooting 45 percent and 35 from three, 25 free throws a game; Brown at 33 and Tatum at 19 a game. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without Vučević (9 straight), Walsh (6 straight). One day's rest. Atlanta comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 126 a night and allowing 117, shooting 50 percent and 37 from three, 19 free throws a game; Alexander-Walker at 21 and McCollum at 21 a game. That is 3 straight wins. One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the defense, Boston allowing 107 a night to Atlanta's 117 and the glass, where Boston has been plus-8 a night and Atlanta plus-3. Call it Boston 116, Atlanta 114, Atlanta keeping it close.
3/28 vs SAC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Atlanta comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 114, shooting 47 percent and 36 from three, 21 free throws a game; Johnson at 23 and Alexander-Walker at 21 a game. Second night of a back-to-back. Sacramento comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 130, shooting 47 percent and 40 from three, 21 free throws a game; Raynaud at 22 and Plowden at 20 a game. Without Murray (14 straight), LaVine (21 straight), Hunter (21 straight). One day's rest.
So: Atlanta wins, and the game turns on the defense, Atlanta allowing 114 a night to Sacramento's 130 and the arc, Sacramento at 40 percent from three to Atlanta's 36. Call it Atlanta 123, Sacramento 112, Atlanta by 11.
3/30 vs BOS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Atlanta comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 125 a night and allowing 114, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 22 free throws a game; Johnson at 27 and Alexander-Walker at 22 a game. One day's rest. Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 105, shooting 45 percent and 36 from three, 24 free throws a game; Brown at 30 and Pritchard at 21 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 9 a night. Without Brown (2 straight), Vučević (11 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Atlanta wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-9 a night and Atlanta plus-2 and the defense, Boston allowing 105 a night to Atlanta's 114. Call it Atlanta 116, Boston 111.
4/01 @ ORL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Orlando comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 126, shooting 47 percent and 35 from three, 31 free throws a game; Banchero at 27 and Bane at 19 a game. Without Fra. Wagner (22 straight), Black (13 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Atlanta comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 112, shooting 48 percent and 39 from three, 21 free throws a game; Johnson at 26 and Alexander-Walker at 22 a game. One day's rest.
So: Atlanta wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Atlanta allowing 112 a night to Orlando's 126 and the line, where Orlando takes 31 free throws a game to Atlanta's 21. Call it Atlanta 120, Orlando 115.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
ATLCK C. Kispert
CM C. McCollum
DD D. Daniels
GV G. Vincent
JJ J. Johnson
JK J. Kuminga
JL J. Landale
NA N. Alexander-Walker
OO O. Okongwu
ZR Z. Risacher
DETAT A. Thompson
CL C. LeVert
DJ D. Jenkins
DR D. Robinson
JD J. Duren
JG J. Green
KH K. Huerter
PR P. Reed
RH R. Holland II
TH T. Harris
ATL/DET the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Surging Hawks snap the East-leading Pistons' 4-game winning streak with a 130-129 win in overtime
DETROIT -- — CJ McCollum scored 27 points, making the tiebreaking three-point play in overtime, and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Detroit Pistons 130-129 on Wednesday night.
Jalen Johnson also had 27 points and came close to another triple-double, finishing with 12 assists and eight rebounds.
The surging Hawks improved to 15-2 since the All-Star break, best in the Eastern Conference, and snapped Detroit's four-game winning streak.
Jalen Duren had 26 points and 14 rebounds for the Pistons, who lost for the first time since All-Star Cade Cunningham sustained a collapsed left lung . Tobias Harris scored 22 points and Daniss Jenkins had 19 points and 10 assists for the East leaders.
Atlanta had a 21-point lead in the first half that Detroit wiped away quickly in the third quarter. McCollum scored the Hawks' final 11 points of regulation, including a three-point play that gave them a 121-116 lead with 44 seconds remaining. But Detroit rallied again and he missed a jumper that would have won it on the final possession.
He got another chance in OT and his three-point play made it 126-123. The Pistons had a chance to win it, but Harris missed a jumper and Duren was short on a follow shot.
The Hawks scored 11 straight points to extend a six-point lead to 56-39 midway through the second quarter, then had an 11-2 spurt just before the half to make it 73-52. The Pistons then scored the first 16 points of the third quarter, trimming Atlanta's 73-55 halftime advantage to 73-71.
Atlanta avoided a four-game sweep in the season series. The Pistons had a season-high 142 points in December in the last meeting, but the Hawks are the hottest team in the East now while surging into sixth place entering play Wednesday.