The Bucks' 19 month streak of failing to win back-to-back games continues.
A night after rallying past the Memphis Grizzlies' bench in Green Bay, the Bucks found a very different story in Detroit. An all-new starting lineup delivered a red-hot start and a 29-19 lead after a quarter, but things ground to a halt in the middle quarters as Detroit eventually ran away with the game early in the second half. Second-year guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led the Pistons with 20 while filling in for the unavailable Jodie Meeks, while Andre Drummond came off the bench to provide his usual ho-hum 15 points and 16 boards.
There were unfortunately few unqualified successes for the Bucks. John Henson had some nice moments offensively (5/6 fg, 10 pts) and was the only starter to crack double-digits, while Giannis Antetokounmpo hit 3/6 fg for 6 points and 7 rebounds in 21 minutes. He also gave Bucks fans a scare with a hard fall later in the game, though he managed to return to action a few minutes later and said after the game that the injury wasn't serious.
Khris Middleton hit three early triples but slowed down thereafter en route to a team-high 13 points against his former team, while Brandon Knight (11 pts, 7 ast, 4 to) and Jabari Parker (4/11 fg, 11 pts, 3 rebs) added double figure contributions off the bench. Though he once again struggled to make the most of his shot opportunities, Parker did hit his first three pointer as a professional late in the fourth quarter and played a team-high 31 minutes.
Aside from Giannis' injury, Johnny O'Bryant III was helped off the court after suffering an ankle injury in the third, while the Bucks were without Nate Wolters (ankle), Ersan Ilyasova (illness), and Damien Inglis (still out rehabbing the broken foot he suffered before the draft). O.J. Mayo did return to action after having last night's game off, though his first performance under Jason Kidd was hardly a memorable one (1/9 fg, 3 pts, 5 rebs in 22 minutes).
The Bucks next return home on Saturday to take on the Bulls in the annual MACC Fund game at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.