.The Pistons end a 3-day break tonight with a road game against the Atlanta Hawks, one of 13 contests around the league. Detroit will be trying to win 3 straight for the first time this season after sweeping a home-n-home series from woeful Washington with Saturday’s 96-to-87 victory just the third road victory for the 9-and-21 Pistons. Detroit had lost six in-a-row before beating the Wizards at the Palace Friday night.

The Pistons haven’t won at Atlanta in nearly five years. The Hawks are 16-and-9 this season and are coming off a home win over the Bulls on Saturday.

The NBA staged a marathon of games on Christmas Day. The Boston Celtics crushed the Nets in Brooklyn 93-to-76 in the early game. The Lakers made New York area teams 0-for-2 on the day by getting past the Knicks in Los Angeles, 100-to-94. In the rematch of last year's NBA Finals, the Heat burned the Oklahoma City Thunder in Miami, 103-to-97.

The Houston Rockets went into Chicago and blasted the Bulls for a 120-to-97 victory. In the nightcap, the action went back to Los Angeles where the host Clippers won their 14th straight game by dropping the Denver Nuggets, 112-100. The NBA season continues Wednesday with a near-full slate of 13 games on tap.