ATLANTA _ The Detroit Pistons lost All-Star Blake Griffin in the third quarter Friday night _ for a quarter-plus.
And so it was Thon Maker who delivered the clutch basket to give the Pistons a crucial victory in their Eastern Conference postseason chase.
Maker, who was acquired at the trade deadline, nailed a corner 3-pointer with 17.1 seconds left to give the Pistons a 125-122 victory over the Atlanta Hawks (19-40) at State Farm Arena.
The Pistons (27-30) lost Griffin in the third quarter when he was ejected, but Reggie Jackson scored a season-high 32 points to pick up the slack in the first game out of the NBA's annual All-Star break.
Jackson's eighth assist found Maker for the winning 3-pointer.
Andre Drummond scored 26 points and grabbed 21 rebounds for the Pistons.
Hawks rookie Trae Young, who scored 30 points and finished with 10 assists, had a standout night.
The Pistons, who have won six of eight, moved to a full game ahead of the Miami Heat for the Eastern Conference's eighth and final playoff spot.
The Pistons face the Heat in Miami on Saturday.
The Pistons were down by five with 1:53 remaining, but Jackson scored five points and two Drummond free throws with 43.7 seconds left tied the game at 122.
Bruce Brown forced a Young miss and Maker grabbed the rebound with 29.4 seconds left.
Coach Dwane Casey called timeout and Maker delivered the winner.
Griffin picked up his first technical foul at the 4:56 mark of the third quarter after he tussled with Hawks center Dewayne Dedmon.
A few possessions later, Griffin nailed a 3-pointer to give the Pistons an 88-77 lead.
He said something to the Hawks bench and official Dedric Taylor called him for his second technical, which earns an automatic ejection.
Griffin finished with 12 points and four rebounds.
The Pistons ran to an early 15-8 lead when all five starters had scored by the 7:44 mark.
But the Hawks started raining 3-pointers.
Bazemore and Alex Len made 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to cut the Pistons' lead to 24-22 at the 3:43 mark.
A Jaylen Adams 3-pointer gave the Hawks a 32-31 lead at the 1:06 mark.
The Hawks took a 34-33 lead into the second quarter where the onslaught continued.
Young got going with 15 points and four assists in the second as the Hawks ran the lead to 14 points against Pistons reserves.
The crowd erupted after a pick-and-roll where Young faked a behind-the-back pass to lose Bruce Brown before bouncing a pass between Griffin's legs for a Dedmon dunk.
A Young 3-pointer on the next possession gave the Hawks a 59-45 lead with 6:02 remaining in the half.
The Pistons were able to cut the deficit to 70-68 by halftime behind the efforts of Jackson, who finished the first half with 18 points and five assists.
