Pistons vs. Hawks final score: Josh Smith's homecoming ends in 93-85 loss

What happened:

The Pistons lost in Atlanta, 93-85, dropping the back end of a back-to-back. Josh Smith struggled in his homecoming, missing 10 of his 15 shots.

The Pistons led by three at the half, 46-43, but shot 37 percent in the second half (2 for 13 from three) while allowing the Hawks to shoot 53 percent.

What stood out:

The whistles seemed to blow most against the Pistons. The Hawks had 12 extra free-throw attempts (eight more makes), which right there is more than the final difference in the score. Rodney Stuckey was the Pistons' best player and he fouled out in only 26 minutes, his last foul coming on an extremely weak wrap-around on offense. Maurice Cheeks was T-ed up and ejected during the commercial break as a result.

The Pistons inability to hit a three pointer also stood out. As I already mentioned, they shot 2-for-13 in the second half from long distance and just 6-for-22 in the game. The Pistons ran several pick-and-roll plays with Luigi Datome in the first half where he would pick and then roll back behind the three-point line. Yet he only got three opportunities to shoot (he made one). He didn't play significant minutes in the second half.

Who stood out:

Josh Smith, obviously, because he returned to where he played his home games for the first nine years of his NBA career. He sucked, and his replacement on the other team -- Paul Millsap -- played well.

Brandon Jennings also stood out as an obvious negative. He missed 12 of his 21 shots and had four turnovers.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was 1-for-9 shooting and 0-for-3 from three. Ouch, rook.

What's next:

The Pistons get a day off and play the Hawks again on Friday at The Palace.

Bullets:

- Box Score

- Kyle Korver extended his streak of consecutive games with at least one three-point make to 85 games. He's four off the NBA record set by Dana Barros.

- Jhorts hit a three!

- Peachtree Hoops

- Roll Call

- What do you think?