DETROIT — Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded his 20th career triple-double with 22 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists, and the Milwaukee Bucks easily beat the Detroit Pistons 110-101 on Wednesday night. Box Score
The victory was the third for the Bucks since the start of the New Year.
“I knew he was really good, but every day I play with him, I realize how good a person he is, good a teammate he is, and how much better he is than what I thought,” Antetokounmpo said.
Jrue Holiday added 21 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals, Bryn Forbes scored 13 points off the bench, Khris Middleton finished with 12 points and six assists, while Bobby Portis ended with 11 points and five rebounds for the Bucks (8-4).
Watch Highlights: Bucks vs. Pistons
Jerami Grant led Detroit with 22 points and Svi Mykhailiuk added 18.
Blake Griffin contributed 12 points, seven rebounds, and six assists, Josh Jackson scored 11 points and Saddiq Bey scored 10 in the defeat for the Pistons (2-9).
“We’ve just tried to keep building on shooting and making it a priority,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “It takes good passing, good ball movement, and then guys have to knock down shots.”
The Bucks built a commanding early lead with a barrage of 3-pointers. Brook Lopez connected three times from beyond the arc in the first quarter, when the Bucks were 7 of 11 from long distance. Detroit was just 4 of 20 overall in the period and trailed 27-13 after one.
Lopez grabbed 11 rebounds, nine points, and four blocks and Donte DiVincenzo finished with 10 rebounds for Milwaukee, which shot 48.2% and made 19 shots from 3-point range.
That pattern continued through much of the second quarter. At one point, Milwaukee led 52-29 and had more 3-pointers (11) than Detroit had field goals (9).
The Pistons cut the deficit to 11 at halftime but never seemed like a serious threat to overtake Milwaukee.
Milwaukee beat Detroit 125-115 on Jan. 4 and 130-115 two days later.
“As a young team, we just made enough mistakes at the right time to put yourself in a hole,” Detroit coach Dwane Casey said.
The Milwaukee Bucks have won three straight and six of seven. The Bucks finished 19 of 43 from 3-point range. Lopez didn’t score after he made his early 3-pointers.
Pistons: Detroit fell to 2-9, but its margins of defeat have remained reasonably respectable. That 15-point loss to Milwaukee was the most lopsided of the season for the Pistons. … Detroit had a 20-7 advantage in second-chance points.
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Milwaukee Bucks will host the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night.
Detroit Pistons game against Washington on Friday night was postponed because of contact tracing issues with the Wizards. The Pistons are scheduled to play at Miami on Saturday night.
