Bucks at Pistons
The Detroit Pistons rebounded from a disappointing season opener with a dominant victory and look to build off that when the Milwaukee Bucks pay a visit on Sunday. The Pistons, who reached the playoffs last season for first time since 2008-09, outscored Orlando by 21 in the second quarter en route to a 108-82 triumph on Friday after losing by 18 at Toronto.
“We know what it takes to win,” Detroit center Andre Drummond told reporters. “We had that taste of success last year and we know how hard we need to play in order to be a great team. That wasn’t the team that we showed against Toronto.” Both teams are without last season’s leading scorer as Pistons’ guard Reggie Jackson is recovering from a knee injury and Milwaukee’s sharp shooter Khris Middleton is several months away from returning from a ruptured hamstring. The Bucks struggled to a 107-96 loss in the season opener before John Henson’s tip-in at the buzzer gave them a 110-108 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday. Giannis Antetokounmpo is off to a strong start for Milwaukee, averaging 26 points and 10 rebounds in the first two contests.
TV: 6 p.m. ET, FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee), FSN Detroit
ABOUT THE BUCKS (1-1): Milwaukee shot just 42.4 percent from the field in its opener while draining just 3-of-16 behind the 3-point arc but improved to 46.6 and 8-of-22, respectively, against Brooklyn. The big boost came from guard Rashad Vaughn, who scored a career-high 22 points off the bench, while Henson hauled in 12 rebounds to go along with the late-game heroics. Jabari Parker is 9-for-20 from the field to average 13.5 points in the first two contests and fellow forward Greg Monroe had 11 points in just 19 minutes Saturday.
ABOUT THE PISTONS (1-1): Tobias Harris has led the way for Detroit with two solid performances, making 16-of-29 from the field – 3-of-7 from behind the 3-point arc – and grabbing nine rebounds. Marcus Morris has also been productive, averaging 17 points and 8.5 rebounds, while Drummond pulled down 20 boards against Orlando. The Pistons will need more players to chip in until Jackson returns in about a month and point guard Beno Udrih along with forward Aron Baynes combined for 26 points off the bench Friday.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Pistons won the final three meetings with the Bucks last season, including a pair in Detroit.
2. Milwaukee G Tony Snell had six points in 21 minutes during his Bucks debut after missing the opener with an ankle injury.
3. Detroit G Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is off to a slow start, managing nine points in 63 minutes on 4-for-14 shooting.