Milwaukee Bucks beat Detroit Pistons 99-95 with hounding defense
By David Topham
The Milwaukee Bucks put an end to the Detroit Pistons’ five-game win streak, beating them 99-95 with unwavering defense and the poise to stop a Detroit rally in the fourth quarter.
The Milwaukee Bucks (8-6) beat the Detroit Pistons (10-4) 99-95 on Wednesday night. The Bucks forced 16 Piston turnovers, blocked 16 shots, and held Detroit to 35.3 percent shooting from the field.
Milwaukee’s defense was hounding from the get-go, forcing Detroit into errant turnovers, rushed shots, and overall bad looks from the field. The Bucks were the more aggressive and physical team, and they had Detroit shook for a majority of this game.
Yet the Pistons – they of five comebacks when trailing by 10 or more points this season – of course found a way to rally in the fourth. Down 13 entering the final quarter, Detroit came all the way back to tie the game with 56 seconds left, but the Bucks clamped down in the final minute and closed out the game.
Milwaukee ended Detroit’s five-game winning streak and is now 4-0 since inserting Eric Bledsoe into their starting lineup. The Pistons play eight of their next 10 games on the road, and they’ll have to do better than this if they want to keep up what they started early on this season.
REGGIE JACKSON. D. Jackson scored two buckets early on in the first quarter, but stopped being aggressive thereafter. Stan Van Gundy didn’t bring him back on the fourth quarter, opting to ride <a rel=. PG. Detroit Pistons
B. Bradley scored a team-high 28 points and made six three pointers, but was a team-low minus 20 in the plus-minus department, which is tough to do. The Pistons’ shooting guard was sloppy with the ball and committed a lot of silly turnovers, finishing with five of those.. SG. Detroit Pistons. AVERY BRADLEY
SF. Detroit Pistons. STANLEY JOHNSON. C-. <a rel=
Harris made only four of 11 shots to finish with 13 points, tied for his third lowest total this season. He kept up his hot shooting from deep at least, finishing 2-4 behind the arc.. PF. Detroit Pistons. TOBIAS HARRIS. C
B+. Despite four turnovers, Drummond was probably Detroit’s best all around player tonight. He put up 13 points, 17 rebounds, and four assists while going 5-8 from the free throw line.. C. Detroit Pistons. ANDRE DRUMMOND
A-. Tolliver did a little bit of everything for Detroit in 31 minutes off the bench. He was an integral part of the fourth-quarter rally, and filled up the box score with nine points, three rebounds, three assists, two steals, and one block. He also defended <a rel=. PF. Detroit Pistons. ANTHONY TOLLIVER
Ish Smith couldn’t buy a bucket, shooting 2-11 from the field, but played a big role in orchestrating the fourth quarter almost-comeback.. PG. Detroit Pistons. ISH SMITH. B-
B+. Moreland put in 19 minutes of hustle, finishing with nine rebounds (six offensive) and two blocks despite the doughnut in the scoring column. He was putting in work on defense, rotating nicely and affecting shots.. C. Detroit Pistons. ERIC MORELAND
Galloway looked lost in the first half, but came out gunning in the fourth quarter. He sparked Detroit’s rally with nine early fourth quarter points with two triples and three free throws after getting fouled on his next attempt. He forced the rest of his subsequent looks after getting hot, however, and settled for some bad looks.. SG. Detroit Pistons. LANGSTON GALLOWAY. B
B+. The rookie scored eight fourth quarter points to keep Detroit alive. Kennard scored 11 points on 4-7 shooting from the field (3-4 from deep).. SF. Detroit Pistons. LUKE KENNARD
STAN VAN GUNDY. D+. Stan Van Gundy’s Pistons turned the ball over too much and weren’t ready for the Bucks length and aggressive defense. Hot bench shooting made the game interesting down the stretch, but Detroit was handily outplayed for most of this game. He was right to keep Smith and Tolliver in down the stretch, however.. Head Coach. Detroit Pistons
Next: The case for Langston Galloway's minutes
The Pistons are back in action on Friday when they visit the Indiana Pacers.