AUBURN HILLS, MICHIGAN - The Detroit Pistons clinched their first division title since their championship era 12 years ago, beating the Atlanta Hawks 105-99 Monday night.
Zeljko Rebraca had career highs with 18 points, 13 rebounds and seven blocks. The Yugoslavian rookie replaced injured Ben Wallace (ankle), who leads the league in blocks and rebounds, and helped Detroit (47-30) win its first Central Division title since the 1989-90 NBA champs.
Detroit is two games behind New Jersey for the best record in the Eastern Conference.
Chucky Atkins led the Pistons with 20 points, while Cliff Robinson added 19. Jerry Stackhouse scored 18 points and dished out 12 assists, one short of his career high.
Shareef Abdur-Rahim, who scored 50 points against the Pistons earlier in the season, led Atlanta with 23, while Jason Terry added 22.
The Pistons trailed by as many as nine in the first quarter, but came back to take a 54-50 lead at intermission.
The teams traded the lead in the third, but five straight points from Atkins helped the Pistons take a 77-72 edge into the final period.
The Hawks pulled to 80-78 on Hanno Mottola's two free throws with 9:26 to play. The Pistons, though, answered with a 10-1 run that included four points from Corliss Williamson and Jon Barry's 3-pointer.
That gave Detroit a 10-point edge, and although some missed free throws let Atlanta get close in the final minute, the Pistons were able to hang on.
Notes: Jon Barry wrenched his back in the final seconds of the first half, but returned in the fourth quarter. ... Pistons coach Rick Carlisle needs three wins in the final five games to break Chuck Daly's team record of 50 by a first-year coach. ... Lon Kruger is 1-7 as a coach against Detroit. ... The previous three Detroit division champs (1988-1990) all went to the NBA finals. ... Atlanta's Alan Henderson missed the game with a sore knee. ... Stackhouse thanked the fans after the game as the team donned championship T-shirts.
Monday
June 23rd, 2025
1:12AM
