Bucks at Pistons
THE STORY: The Milwaukee Bucks are trying to get back to the .500 mark for the first time in more than a month, and they may have an easier time getting there if they could schedule LeBron James and the Miami Heat more often. Fresh off a 105-97 victory over Miami on Wednesday – its second win over the Heat in 11 days – Milwaukee will look to extend its winning streak to four games when it visits the reeling Detroit Pistons on Friday night. The Bucks throttled the Pistons by 21 points on Monday night, but a big reason for their losing record is a 3-9 mark away from home – a result of dropping their first eight road games this season. Milwaukee has since turned things around by winning three of its last four on the road, starting with a 91-82 victory at Miami on Jan. 22. Detroit is mired in a seven-game losing streak, the last four coming away from home.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FSWI, FSD
ABOUT THE BUCKS (10-11): Milwaukee stormed back from an 18-point deficit to beat Miami for its third straight victory. The Bucks sandwiched wins over the Heat and Los Angeles Lakers around the drubbing of the Pistons in their three-game winning streak. Brandon Jennings scored 31 points and buried a season-high seven 3-pointers after connecting on 4 of 8 from behind the arc against Detroit. Drew Gooden has averaged 19.8 points and 9.3 boards in four games since C Andrew Bogut fractured his ankle.
ABOUT THE PISTONS (4-20): Detroit’s woes continued in a 99-96 loss at New Jersey, which dressed only eight players. The Pistons have scored 100 points only once and are nearly dead even with Toronto as the league’s lowest-scoring team (86.1 ppg). C Greg Monroe has been one of the few bright spots. Although he had his string of five straight double-doubles halted, Monroe scored 21 points against the Nets. Rookie Brandon Knight is shooting 29.8 percent (14 of 47) in his last four.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Milwaukee hasn’t won four straight games since March 2010.
2. The Pistons are allowing opponents to shoot 48.6 percent, second highest in the league.