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Game 3: Bucks 83 – Pistons 98

The Bucks had the second half of their first back-to-back test of the season tonight in Detroit against the talented young Pistons.

The starting lineup for the Bucks was:

Matthew Dellavedova

Tony Snell

Giannis Antetokounmpo

Jabari Parker

Miles Plumlee

Detroit’s starting five was made up of:

Ish Smith

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

Tobias Harris

Marcus Morris

Andre Drummond

Giannis kicked off the scoring with a jumper, and a Delly 3-pointer shortly after made it 5-2 Bucks as things looked good very early on. From there the Pistons went on a 14-4 run to go up 16-9 midway through the first. Detroit maintained a lead about this big for most of the first, but the Bucks started to chip away at it late in the quarter before finishing the first just trailing, 24-21.

The Bucks’ solid run late in the first was erased early in the second, as Aron Baynes promptly hit a layup to kick off a 10-2 run that gave the Pistons some breathing room. From there, the Pistons cruised the rest of the quarter and never even gave the Bucks a window to start getting back into the game. On the strength of Andre Drummond’s 12 point, 8 rebound half, the Pistons went into the locker room with a 50-39 halftime lead.

Jabari Parker kicked off the second half with a layup, and the Bucks had their best quarter of the game in the third as they cut down Detroit’s lead to three with five minutes left on the strength of a run that included seven straight points from Giannis. They even got within two points a little later, but unfortunately the Pistons didn’t let the Bucks tie it up or take a lead. Milwaukee pulled within 3 points with about a minute left, but the Pistons closed out the quarter on a 7-0 run (capped by a big Tobias Harris last-second dunk) to enter the final quarter with a 75-65 advantage.

The Bucks scored the first points of the fourth (Parker again, this time on a free throw), and they whittled away at Detroit’s lead early on. As was the story all game, though, the Pistons responded to these threats with rally-killing baskets to secure their advantage. Milwaukee never seriously made a move to overtake the Pistons in the fourth quarter, and Detroit cruised to a near-blowout win by the end of the night, 98-83.

Three Big Things

Closing The Gap – Unlike in the Charlotte game, the Bucks were able to come back several times in the course of this game, but they were not able to seal the deal and actually take a lead. This is progress, though, and it’s good to know that the Bucks don’t have to jump out to an early lead if they want to win a game. If they want to make the playoffs, though, they’re going to have to come back all the way and end up winning games like this, not just keeping it close before ultimately falling.

Giannis Antetokounmpo – Giannis continued his excellent start to the season with a near triple-double, and his bid to be Milwaukee’s first all-star since Michael Redd looks to be off to a good start. He had 17 points (falling short of 20 for the first time in three games), 8 assists, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks in 35 minutes. He only shot 5/16 from the field, though, so he’s got that to work on. He also wasn’t getting much help from his teammates offensively, so maybe he felt like he had to settle for not-so-great shots.

Andre Drummond – Drummond had a ridiculous game for the Pistons, finishing with 20 points on 8/16 from the field and 23! rebounds in 36 minutes of action. He also had 3 blocks and 2 steals as he basically just had his way with the Bucks all night. Drummond is a hell of a talent for the Pistons, and the Bucks will surely dread having to play him for years to come.

Plus/Minus Hero

For most of the game, it looked like Giannis would be the plus/minus hero tonight, but as the Pistons increased their lead that went away. Instead, honors go to Miles Plumlee, the only Buck with a positive plus/minus at +1. Plumlee had 8 points on 4/6 shooting, along with 5 rebounds in 17 minutes of action. It must have been Plumlee’s efficient shooting which got him here, and he will help his team if he continues having games like this.

While the Pistons were favored to win, it hurts that the Bucks just couldn’t get it done tonight. There were some positives to take away for Milwaukee, but they have a lot to work on. They’ll have a good test to see if they learned anything Tuesday night at 7:00 PM CT against the Pelicans in what is sure to be a nerve-wracking game featuring Anthony Davis.