The Detroit Pistons and the Milwaukee Bucks were all knotted up at 121-121 with just over six minutes left in the fourth quarter. But the Bucks’ all-star teammates Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard were too much to handle, as the visitors pulled away down the stretch to claim a 141-135 win over the Pistons on Saturday, Jan. 20, at Little Caesars Arena.
Lillard had a career day, notching his highest-ever point total against the Pistons franchise, dropping 45 points to go along with 11 assists and six rebounds. Antetokounmpo was expected to miss the game with a right shoulder contusion. Instead, the NBA’s leading vote-getter for the All-Star Game recorded a near-triple-double, finishing with 31 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists. The two combined to shoot more free throws than the entire Pistons team – 38 for Antetokounmpo and Lillard, compared to 32 for Detroit.
After the contest, Pistons Head Coach Monty Williams remarked about the massive free throw disparity, that saw Milwaukee attempt 49 as a team.
“Two guys have 38 between them. The league has to figure it out. You can’t just keep running into people and throwing the ball at the rim. That’s just not basketball in my opinion,” he said. “Coaches are getting fined for their frustration with those kinds of things, and so that’s hard to play against. I just feel bad for our team because we’re trying to play good basketball and good defense, and it’s just hard to play that way.”
Alec Burks led the way for the Pistons, scoring 33 points off the bench to go along with his six assists and season-high seven rebounds. It was the second time in the past three games that Burks has gone past the 30-point mark.
“Burks has just been phenomenal. His ability to score the ball, his ability to communicate and help the young guys while he’s out there on the floor, has helped us a ton and you don’t typically get that type of bench production. AB has just been stellar,” Williams said.
Aside from Burks, the Pistons got 22 off the bench from Ausar Thompson, 13 points on 4-of-4 from three-point land for newcomer Mike Muscala, and 19 and 18, respectively, from starters Jaden Ivey and Bojan Bogdanovic. The Pistons bench outscored the Bucks’ bench 85-18 on the night.
Despite the loss, the Pistons can take away several positive outcomes from the performance. They shot 57% from beyond the arc, converting on 21-of-37 attempts. They also only committed nine turnovers and limited the Bucks to just 12 points off those turnovers.
Brook Lopez was big for the Bucks throughout the game, scoring well beyond his season average and finishing with 19 points, three blocked shots, four assists and 10 rebounds. Former-Piston Khris Middleton chipped in with 17 points, five boards, and four assists.
Detroit did a fairly solid job at subduing the offensive output of Lillard and Antetokounmpo in the opening frame, as the two combined for just 10 points, but they did have eight assists between them in the quarter. But it was Lopez who led the Bucks in the first with nine points and three rebounds.
Piston newcomers Danilo Gallanari and Mike Muscala both saw action in the first quarter with the second round of subs. The two combined for eight first-quarter points and helped fuel a comeback after the Pistons trailed 20-15. Marcus Sasser knocked down a three, Alec Burks hit back-to-back threes on consecutive Pistons’ possessions, and Sasser hit another 20-foot jumper to push the score to 38-34 to close out the opening quarter.
It was much of the same for the Pistons in the second quarter, as the team pushed the pace to start the stanza. The Bucks closed the lead to just two points, 40-38, but the Pistons used a 15-8 run to get out to a 55-46 lead, fueled by eight straight points from Bojan Bogdanovic. The Bucks eventually got rolling as the second quarter wound down. Lillard got hot and was able to pour in 11 points in the quarter, including a sidestep into a three-pointer he knocked down with 0.3 seconds to close out the half and put the Bucks up 70-67 at intermission.
Muscala said he felt like the team battled hard despite the loss.
“We scored a lot today (as a bench unit). It’s fun with that group. I’m feeling comfortable with the play calls. As a five, I try to mix it up and not always pop on that screen,” he said of how he’s fitting in with the team less than a week after he was traded to Detroit with Danilo Gallinari.
“We just couldn’t get it done. But we get a chance to play them again.”
The Pistons are back in action at home on Monday for the second of back-to-back matchups against the Bucks, where the Pistons will be looking to make adjustments for their turnaround against Lillard and Antetokounmpo. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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