Tonight, the Detroit Pistons are looking to pick up their second win in as many days with a familiar Central Division rival in town– the Milwaukee Bucks.

Last night, the Pistons hosted the Portland Trail Blazers for a tight back-and-forth contest that went down to the wire. With time waning, Duncan Robinson hit a crucial three-pointer in his return to the lineup to tie the game at 110 apiece. From there, Cunningham and Holland connected on a series of clutch free throws to put the game out of reach, picking up a 122-116 victory in the process.

Shooting an impeccable 13-for-14 clip from the free throw line, Cunningham finished the nail-biting game with 29 points, nine assists, four rebounds, three steals and one block in the win, Detroit’s 18th of the season. Pistons center Jalen Duren added 18 points and eight rebounds, and Ausar Thompson looked assertive and aggressive with the basketball en route to a 15-point outing. 

But it was the unheralded Ron Holland II who delivered a pivotal performance off the bench for the Pistons. With hustle in abundance, Holland had a big second half in what was a 17-point affair for the second-year player. Holland has served as a spark plug for Detroit through the first quarter of the season, always ready and willing to mix it up on defense or dive for loose balls, and Holland’s determination appeared to rub off on his teammates in Friday night’s six-point win. 

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Injuries

With Duncan Robinson back in the lineup, the Pistons have a fairly healthy unit right now, and the next player expected to join the bunch is Marcus Sasser. Sidelined for the entire regular season thus far as he recovers from a hip impingement, Sasser was listed as questionable for last night’s game, so it’s possible that he’s feeling up to the task tonight against the Eastern Conference foe. Pistons forward Bobi Klintman also missed Detroit’s game against the Blazers with a sprained ankle that continues to bother him.

UPDATE: It looks like Tobias Harris is questionable and Sasser is probably, so we could see the young guard make his regular season debut tonight. 

As for the Bucks, Giannia Antetokounmpo is expected to be out for two to four weeks after he strained his calf against the Pistons on Wednesday. In that game, Giannis went crumpled down onto the floor with nobody around him and audibly complained about being “pushed,” but there was simply no Detroit player near him when he fell. That is typically the hallmark sign of an Achilles injury, so the Bucks are quite lucky to only be dealing with a strained calf. 

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Bucks News

Now, Milwaukee was also in action last night, so both squads will be playing with little rest. Last night, the Bucks suffered a 15-point loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in Antetokounmpo’s absence, falling 116-101. In the loss, the Bucks allowed Philly to put up 69 points in the first half, and Milwaukee was never able to make progress erasing that deficit in the second half. 

Without Giannis, the Bucks’ bench actually stepped up to a large degree with 44 points, but Milwaukee simply did not receive enough firepower from its starters. The combination of Jericho Sims and AJ Green combined for two points against the 76ers, so that lack of production really hamstrung Milwaukee on Friday night. 

Against the Pistons a couple games ago, the Bucks experienced a good deal of success running a zone defense, so it will be interesting to see if they stick with the same gameplan. Now, Detroit had a bit of extra practice in attacking the zone last night against the Blazers, and Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff is likely to have analyzed the tape from Wednesday’s loss to Milwaukee in an effort to further circumvent the team’s restrictive zone defense. 

Player To Watch: Ausar Thompson

With Giannis out of the lineup, the Pistons have a golden opportunity to shut down another member of the Bucks’ squad by assigning Ausar Thompson for a special defensive assignment later tonight. Against Milwaukee on Wednesday, Thompson spent a good deal of time legally harassing Ryan Rollins as he set up the Bucks’ offense, and Thompson’s pressure seemed to frustrate and limit Rollins’ ability to cleanly get to his spots. 

And on the offensive end, Thompson was particularly aggressive against Portland last night, and he scored most of his points while moving towards the bucket. This allowed Thompson to use his athleticism to absorb contact in the paint, and it resulted in a strong 15-point game from Ausar. 

Prediction: Milwaukee Bucks 103, Detroit Pistons 112

Although it was not an issue for the Bucks two games ago, Milwaukee will need to find an answer on offense not named Giannis Antetokounmpo. Both teams played last night, so stamina should not be a factor in one team’s favor over the other, and Bickerstaff did keep the rotation pretty slim and tight against the Blazers. Look for Detroit to attack the Bucks’ zone defense a bit differently with Duncan Robinson back in the lineup to provide some perimeter shooting that should make Milwaukee pay for leaving the experienced marksman open for too long tonight. 

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