Pistons at Bucks
The Detroit Pistons' improved play of late has certainly caught the eye of owner Tom Gores. The Pistons seek a 13th win in 16 games when they visit the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday. The owner addressed the team after Detroit scored a season high in points in Wednesday's 128-118 victory over the Orlando Magic.
“He (Tom Gores) talked to the guys about how proud he was of them," Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy told reporters. "That they didn’t give up on the season at 5-23. He’s proud of the way they’re representing the organization and how they’re representing the city; that they’ve continued to fight.” The turnaround coincided with the release of Josh Smith before Christmas and has allowed Brandon Jennings (20 points, 7.2 assists in the last 15 games), Greg Monroe (16 points, 7.9 rebounds) and Andre Drummond (12.9 points, 14.1 rebounds) to flourish. The Bucks have done anything but flourish lately at home, as their 101-99 loss to Utah on Thursday was their sixth loss in eight games in their own building since Dec. 13
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBA TV, FSN Detroit, FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee)
ABOUT THE PISTONS (17-26): Jennings had 24 points and 21 assists against the Magic, posting the first 20-point, 20 assist game in the NBA since Steve Nash in 2009. "He's been playing at a high level for a while, and tonight was just exposure as far as assists go,” Monroe said of Jennings. Monroe had 24 points, 10 rebounds and four assists and Drummond finished with 26 points, 17 rebounds, four steals and three blocks. Two other contributors, especially from the arc, have been Jodie Meeks and Kyle Singler, who have combined to drain 54-of-122 3-pointers (44.3 percent) in the last 15 games.
ABOUT THE BUCKS (21-21): Milwaukee took a three-point lead into the fourth quarter on Thursday against Utah but came up short when Brandon Knight missed a jumper and Zaza Pachulia a tip at the buzzer. "We had some shots at the end, but this has been happening to us, losing these home games," Bucks swingman Jared Dudley told reporters. "We understand we don't have a huge home-court advantage because we've got to win fans over, keep winning, keep playing hard, and that will come." The trio of Brandon Knight, O.J. Mayo and Khris Middleton have combined to shoot 41 percent from the arc in 212 attempts in the 17 games since Jabari Parker went out for the season with a knee injury.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Jennings posted the first 20-point, 20-assist Pistons game since Isiah Thomas had 20 points and 20 assists on April 4, 1985.
2. The Bucks beat the Pistons two out of three in a three-week period in November, as Knight averaged 14.3 points and 7.3 assists while Drummond has averaged 20 points and 13.3 rebounds.
3. The Bucks, who haven't scored 100 points in 10 straight games, are attempting to hold a team under 50-percent shooting for a 16th straight time for the first time since the 2006-07 season.