Tuesday evening got off to a good start for Detroit (17-28), but turned ugly very quickly. Brandon Jennings scored 30 points for the visiting Milwaukee Bucks (24-19), en route to steamrolling the home team Pistons 117-90.
Detroit cruised to an early first quarter lead thanks to eight points each from Kyle Singler and Tayshaun Prince. After leading by as many as 15, the Pistons settled for a 28-19 first quarter lead after Milwaukee forward Samuel Dalembert tipped in a missed free throw at the buzzer.
“We got off to a good start,” said Pistons coach Lawrence Frank. “We could have been up 25.”
Milwaukee surged back in the second quarter, outscoring the Pistons 30-14 to finish the opening half with a 52-42 lead. Mike Dunleavy had 12 second quarter points for Milwaukee and Ekpe Udoh added 8 points and 6 rebounds.
The Bucks effectively put the game away in the third quarter when Brandon Jennings hit five consecutive three-pointers for Milwaukee to account for 15 of his 20 third quarter points. Milwaukee led 91-68 after three, and cruised through the final period.
“I think our team was just aggressive in the third quarter,” said Jennings. “Overall it was a great team effort.”
Andre Drummond led the Pistons with 18 points and a career-high 18 rebounds, and Greg Monroe scored 14. Five players finished in double digit scoring figures for Detroit, as Kyle Singler pitched in 12, and Tayshaun Prince and Brandon Knight each scored 10. Jonas Jerebko, who played almost nine minutes in the fourth quarter, had six points on three of nine shooting.
The loss marks the third in the last four games for Detroit, who had won nine of their previous 14 games before their recent slump. Detroit now trails the eighth-place Boston Celtics by four and a half games in the East. Milwaukee, currently in seventh in the East, moves just a half game behind Atlanta for sixth.
The Pistons travel to Indiana on Wednesday before returning home to host Cleveland on Friday and the L.A. Lakers on Sunday. Milwaukee hosts Chicago on Wednesday, travels to New York on Friday, and returns home against Orlando on Saturday.
Milwaukee’s Ekpe Udoh defends Detroit’s Greg Monroe Tuesday night at the Palace of Auburn Hills. The Bucks defeated the Pistons 117-90
