AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Reggie Bullock adds a new dimension to the Detroit Pistons offense. He takes hard cuts to the basket, making him a tough player to cover.

Working his way back from a knee injury, Bullock reached season highs in points, assists and rebounds as the Pistons cooled down the Atlanta Hawks 118-95 on Wednesday night at The Palace.

Making his second start in place of injured Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Bullock contributed 15 points, six rebounds and four assists.

"He's only played seven games this year and he probably has more cutting baskets than the rest of the team combined," coach Stan Van Gundy said. "He's sort of setting an example for people and he does a great job of moving without the ball."

Bullock was playing in just his third game since he underwent left knee surgery for a meniscus tear early last month. He credits Matt Barnes, his former teammate with the Los Angeles Clippers, for his offensive style.

"I would see how he moved without the ball, making cuts, and I was like, 'That's something I can add to my game,'" said Bullock, a fourth-year swingman. "I did it in college a little bit but when I was drafted by the Clippers, I was pretty much a spot-up shooter."

Everybody seemed to be in a good offensive flow for Detroit, which shot 49.5 percent from the field. Playing their first game since a five-game West Coast trip, the Pistons never trailed as they opened up a 30-point lead in the first half.

The Pistons raced to a 42-18 lead after the first quarter and were never threatened by the Hawks, who had won nine of their previous 10 games.

"I actually thought that was our best quarter of the year so far in terms of offense and defense combined," Van Gundy said. "That was what decided the game."

Reggie Jackson scored a game-high 26 points, and Andre Drummond collected 13 points and 17 rebounds. The Pistons out-rebounded Atlanta 60-32 and held the visitors to 38.5 percent shooting.

"Andre came with really good energy and defensively, he really anchored us," Van Gundy said. "When he's going to play like that defensively, we have a chance to be really good."

Forward Tobias Harris supplied 19 points, including 15 during the first quarter, and Marcus Morris racked up 14 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.

The Pistons (20-24) were once again missing two of their starters. Power forward Jon Leuer sat out for the fifth straight game with a bone bruise on his right knee, while Caldwell-Pope missed his third straight game with a left rotator cuff strain.

Paul Millsap's 21 points and eight rebounds led the Hawks (24-18). Dennis Schroder added 13 points and six assists, and Kris Humphries also chipped in 13 points.

"Credit to Detroit. They were better than us in every phase of the game," said Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer, whose team had won its last five road games. "They were well-prepared. They executed defensively and offensively. We couldn't match them tonight. We need to go home and gather back up."

The Pistons took a double-digit lead midway through the first quarter and never looked back.

"We weren't able to recover from that no matter what we did," Millsap said. "After we started getting up in them and pressuring them, they still hit tough shots. When a team gets going like that, it's hard to stop them."

Detroit's 42-point first quarter was its highest-scoring quarter of the season. The Pistons' previous high was 37 against Charlotte on Jan. 5.

The Pistons' also established a new season high in halftime points while taking a 69-45 lead to the locker room. Their previous best was 64 points against the New York Knicks on Nov. 1.

NOTES: The Hawks signed veteran G Gary Neal to a 10-day contract. He will serve as the third point guard. "I have a great comfort level with Gary, his ability to make shots and be a weapon off the bench in big games," said Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer, a Spurs assistant when Neal played in San Antonio. ... Atlanta made room for Neal by dealing PG Mo Williams and cash considerations to the Nuggets for the rights to European F Cenk Akyol. ... The Pistons allowed 10 of their previous 22 opponents to shoot 50 percent or better. "We need to become a much better defensive team than we've been our last 20 games," coach Stan Van Gundy said. ... Atlanta is 6-0 all time when PF Paul Millsap scores 30 or more points. ... The teams, who split their first two meetings, wrapped up their season series.