ATLANTA – The Pistons got all of their anxiety over slow starts out of their system in one breathtaking first quarter.
Coming into the game 28th in the NBA in first-quarter scoring differential at minus-3.5 – ahead of only Sacramento and Dallas – the Pistons wiped out more than half of their cumulative total by doubling up Atlanta 40-20.
They led by 24 points 11 minutes into the game and by 29 with 10 minutes left, never allowing Atlanta to come closer than 17 points until the final two minutes with both benches emptied.
Dwane Casey has had to turn to his bench to claw back into games too often already this season, but when he made his first substitutions Friday night – Ish Smith and Langston Galloway seven minutes into the game – the Pistons held a 26-10 lead.