ATLANTA — Mike Bibby put an end to Detroit's domination of the Hawks, scoring a season-high 27 points to lead Atlanta to an 85-78 win over the Pistons today.

Detroit trailed by 18 points early in the second half before launching a steady comeback in the matchup of second-place teams.

The Pistons cut the lead to 80-76 on a basket by Rasheed Wallace with 2:30 remaining, but Bibby answered with a jumper.

With Atlanta leading 83-78, Detroit called timeout with 20 seconds left. Joe Johnson grabbed the rebound on a miss by Tayshaun Prince and hit two free throws to seal the win.

The Pistons swept the four-game series with the Hawks last season, but each of the games came before Atlanta acquired Bibby from Sacramento on Feb. 16. Detroit had won 12 of the last 16 games in the series in Atlanta.

Johnson had 19 points and seven assists. Al Horford added 11 points and 11 rebounds and Josh Smith also had 11 points for Atlanta.

Rodney Stuckey and Wallace each had 20 points for Detroit.

Richard Hamilton had 16 points for Detroit before he was ejected with 1:14 remaining. Hamilton drew the technical from official Rodney Mott as he walked toward the Detroit bench after taking an apparent hit and falling to one knee under the Hawks basket.

Detroit made its first seven shots before a missed jumper by Hamilton 5:13 into the game. Three straight baskets by Johnson helped Atlanta trail only 25-22 at the end of the period.

Bibby opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer, his first of five in the period, as Atlanta led 52-41 at halftime. Bibby had two 3s in a 13-0 run early in the quarter.

The Hawks stretched the lead to 59-41 by scoring the first seven points of the third quarter, but Detroit closed the period with a 9-1 run to cut the lead to 69-63.