Rapid Recap: Bucks 87, Pistons 110

What started as an uneven performance turned into an utter disaster, with the Milwaukee Bucks losing to the Detroit Pistons 110-87. Milwaukee looked stiff out of the gates, but Jabari Parker added seven off the bench in the first to keep the game tied at 32. A horrendous second quarter followed for the Bucks, scoring just 12 points and trailing the Pistons 53-44 at halftime. Milwaukee’s offense fell further into the sunken place in the third quarter, cratering until they were down 85-70 to Detroit. The fourth quarter doesn’t even really warrant discussion.

After losing two close games, one would expect Milwaukee to come out fired up against a team that had lost its last three games by double digits. The struggles of Detroit disappearing against whatever futile effort Milwaukee put forth tonight was pretty embarrassing. All that really matters from this game is whether Giannis Antetokounmpo is okay after being Three Stooge eye poked in both eyes.

Speaking of Giannis, his stupendous play last night was nowhere to be found tonight as he scored just 11 points, going 5-13 from the field without any free throw attempts and just three rebounds and two assists. He also had four turnovers and three personal fouls.

Meanwhile Khris Middleton scored 17 points, 10 of which came at the free throw line while Eric Bledsoe was I guess the best player tonight by default, with 19 points on 10 shots to go with six rebounds and four assists.

Detroit was led by Andre Drummond, who went for 15 points and 16 rebounds. His tag teammate Blake Griffin neared a triple double with eight points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Perhaps most depressingly, Eric Moreland flirted with that same gaudy stat line, managing 10 points, 12 rebounds and six assists.

Stat That Stood Out

13 Turnovers - Milwaukee didn’t have a significant number of more turnovers than Detroit’s 11, but it’s what the Pistons did with those that matter. They converted those into 20 points for their squad, 11 of which came in the first half. Meanwhile, Milwaukee mustered just 12 points off Detroit’s gaffes and had zero of those easy buckets in the first two quarters when their offense looked broken.