Damian Lillard had 34 points as the host Milwaukee Bucks overcame Giannis Antetokounmpo’s ejection and a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Detroit Pistons 120-118 Wednesday.
Bobby Portis had 18 points, and Brook Lopez added 14, including a pivotal 3-pointer in the late going.
Antetokounmpo was whistled for a technical in the first quarter and picked up another three minutes into the second half, triggering an automatic ejection. He stared down Detroit’s Isaiah Stewart after a dunk.
Cade Cunningham led Detroit with 33 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Marcus Sasser supplied 26 points for the Pistons, who have six straight losses.
They’ve also dropped 22 of their last 23 meetings with Milwaukee.
Milwaukee went on a 16-2 run early in the second quarter to take a 42-27 lead. Portis scored 13 of those points on five baskets and three free throws.
Cunningham scored 12 consecutive points for his team as the Pistons pulled within seven. Milwaukee nudged its lead to 10 by the half, 62-52.
The dunk, which precipitated Antetokounmpo’s ejection and gave Milwaukee a 73-60 advantage. Thanasis Antetokounmpo also received a technical.
Cunningham made both free throws and hit a jumper with 12 seconds left. The Pistons continued to claw away and made it a two-point game, 84-82, on a Stewart 3-pointer. Sasser drained a 3-pointer with 2:12 left in the quarter to give Detroit an 88-87 lead.
Sasser scored seven points in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter to make it 102-94. A three-point play by Sasser upped the Pistons’ lead to 10, 109-99.
Detroit’s offense then cooled off while the Bucks made a comeback. A Lillard layup pulled Milwaukee within one, 113-112, with 2:10 left in the game.
A Lillard basket gave Milwaukee the lead, and Lopez’s 3-pointer with 42 seconds increased it to 119-115.
Cunningham answered with a 3-pointer, but he made a turnover with four seconds left. After Crowder split two free throws, Cunningham missed a last-second heave.
–Field Level Media
