The surging Bucks faced the surging Pistons tonight in a central division battle.
The Bucks starters were:
Eric Bledsoe
Tony Snell
Khris Middleton
Giannis Antetokounmpo
John Henson
The Pistons starters were:
Reggie Jackson
Avery Bradley
Stanley Johnson
Tobias Harris
Andre Drummond
Reggie Jackson started the game for the Pistons with a layup, and Avery Bradley scored the next 5 to give the Pistons an early 7-0 lead. Giannis ended that run with a midrange jumper, though, and by the six minute mark of the opening quarter the Bucks were only down 14-12. A Khris Middleton three after that gave the Bucks their first lead of the game, and also sparked an 8-0 run that put them up 20-14. The Pistons responded with six straight points to tie it up, but the Bucks eventually won the back-and-forth quarter, 26-23. Avery Bradley led all scorers with 11 points, and Giannis followed him with 8 (which all came in the first six minutes of the game).
Giannis kicked off the second quarter for the Bucks with a layup, and before long the Bucks had their biggest lead of the game (at that point) at 30-23. Luke Kennard answered with a 3 to bring the lead back down to four, and by midway through the second the Pistons had tied it up at 30. Avery Bradley then gave Detroit the lead back with a 3 to make it 10 straight points, and the Pistons ultimately scored 12 unanswered points in four minutes. Khris Middleton ended that run with a 3, and a Middleton to John Henson alley-oop after that tied the game back up at 35. It stayed even after that as the game went into halftime tied at 41. Avery Bradley led all scorers with 16, and Giannis and Khris Middleton followed him with 13 and 12, respectively. Eric Bledsoe didn’t score any points in the half, but he did rack up 4 rebounds, 5 assists, a steal and 2 blocks. The Bucks outshot the Pistons 43% to 33% from the field, but the Pistons outshot the Bucks 44% to 25% from 3-point range.
Eric Bledsoe started the second half with a floater as the Bucks opened on a 17-7 run (keep in mind they only scored 15 points in the entire second quarter) to take a commanding 58-48 lead. A Giannis steal and dunk right at the midway point of the quarter put the Bucks up 62-50, and a Malcolm Brogdon 3 after that put them up 15. Avery Bradley stopped the bleeding for the Pistons with a 3 of his own, and the Pistons were eventually able to get within single digits at 69-60 with about 90 seconds left in the quarter. The Bucks finished on a 6-2 burst, though, and went into the final quarter with a 75-62 lead. Avery Bradley led all scorers with 23 points, and Giannis and Khris Middleton trailed him with 19 apiece.
Tobias Harris began the final quarter for the Pistons with a long 2, and back-to-back Langston Galloway 3s quickly brought Detroit to within 5 points at 75-70. The Bucks didn’t flinch though, and stayed just ahead of the Pistons through the midway point of the fourth quarter, when they led 82-78. Anthony Tolliver hit a 3 right after that to make it 82-81, and a minute later Luke Kennard tied the game at 84 with a 3 of his own. The Pistons fought hard to tie it up, but the Bucks just would not let them get a lead down the stretch, and an Eric Bledsoe 3 put them up 93-87 with two and a half minutes left. Detroit scored the next 6 points to tie it up again, but Eric Bledsoe hit a midrange jumper to give the Bucks the lead yet again. Giannis hit two free throws after that to make it a two possession game, and the Bucks ended up winning 99-95. Avery Bradley led all scorers with 28 points, followed by Khris Middleton with 27 and Giannis with 21. The Bucks outshot the Pistons 49% to 35% from the field in the win.
Three Big Things
Blocks – The Bucks threw a block party where everyone was invited and finished with 16 blocks, a season high for any NBA team so far. The previous high was 13, and the Bucks passed that before the third quarter was up. Giannis and Thon Maker each accounted for 4 (!) blocks, and John Henson, Tony Snell, and Eric Bledsoe added two apiece. Malcolm Brogdon and DeAndre Liggins added the final two blocks to help set the mark for the young season. The Bucks are never more fun to watch than when they’re swatting everything their opponents throw up, and tonight’s game was a blast to watch. It also helped them win despite being outshot from the three-point line and the free-throw line.
Khris Middleton – Middleton was the offensive star tonight, finishing with a game high 27 points to go along with 6 rebounds and 8 assists (along with 2 steals) in a near triple-double. He shot 12/21 from the field and 3/7 from distance, but he seemed to hit every shot at an important time, either stifling a Detroit run or extending a Bucks run. Middleton can be counted on for about 20 points a game at this point in his career, but if he can average these rebound and assist numbers as well he will certainly rival Eric Bledsoe as the second-best player on the team.
Avery Bradley – Bradley had a very consistent game for the Pistons, as he was the game’s leading scorer at the end of every quarter. He finished with 28 points on 8-18 from the field and 6-10 from beyond the arc, and also tallied 2 rebounds, 5 assists, and a steal. The Pistons may have seen their five-game winning streak come to an end tonight, but it was certainly not Avery Bradley’s fault, as he was scoring for them all night.
Plus/Minus Hero
Giannis Antetokounmpo – While Giannis usually leads the team in scoring, he’s usually not the plus/minus leader. Both of those things were different tonight, though, as he finished with 21 points (behind Middleton’s 27) and a +16 mark (with John Henson’s +12 being the next closest). He also stuffed the stat sheet with 6 rebounds, an assist, 3 steals, and 4 blocks, as the Pistons will probably have nightmares tonight of Giannis on defense. While 21 points is Giannis’s second-lowest total of the season, he will surely take the win, especially against a previously-surging Pistons team.
The Bucks will try for a five-game winning streak of their own as they head to Dallas to face the Mavericks on Saturday night at 8:00 PM CT.