Giannis Antetokounmpo had 28 points, nine assists, eight rebounds and four blocks as the shorthanded Milwaukee Bucks continued their dominance of the host Detroit Pistons with a 117-89 rout on Tuesday night.
Milwaukee has won 15 consecutive games against its Central Division opponent, including the postseason.
Pat Connaughton and Jordan Nwora had 16 points apiece and Bobby Portis added 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Justin Robinson chipped in 11 points with four assists as the Bucks snapped a three-game losing streak.
The Bucks played without starters Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday and Brook Lopez due to illness or injury. It didn’t matter, as Milwaukee took the lead early in the opening quarter and held it the rest of the way.
Jerami Grant led the Pistons, who have only one win this season, with 21 points. Trey Lyles added 13 points and seven rebounds off the bench.
The top pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Cade Cunningham, had a woeful shooting night for Detroit. He made just 2 of 14 shots from the field and went 0-for-9 on 3-point attempts to finish with just six points in 29 minutes.
For the game, the Bucks shot 50 percent from the field and held Detroit to 32.3 percent.
Antetokounmpo had 12 points and seven assists by halftime as the Bucks raced to a 57-39 lead. The Pistons shot 34.1 percent from the field in the half as no one besides Grant had more than six points. Milwaukee also controlled the boards, grabbing 10 more rebounds than the home team.
The Bucks finished the half on a 21-8 run with two-time league MVP Antetokounmpo assisting on the last three baskets.
Milwaukee continued to maintain a comfortable lead during the third quarter. Portis had a putback dunk with 4:29 remaining in the quarter to make it 76-53.
Rodney Hood’s 3-pointer late in the quarter increased the Bucks’ advantage to 88-59. They carried a 90-62 lead into the fourth quarter.
Antetokounmpo made a 3-pointer with about 10 minutes left to push the Bucks’ advantage past 30 points.
–Field Level Media