Giannis Antetokounmpo was ready to go toe to toe with Blake Griffin during a second-quarter flare-up between division rivals Milwaukee and Detroit. The game was turning contentious. It wouldn’t stay close for long.
“They’re just a great defensive team and just play really physical,” Antetokounmpo said. “They want to be physical, they want to be dirty. They want you to get out of your game, and whenever you come in Detroit, you expect that.”
Antetokounmpo on Wednesday night scored 35 points to lift the Bucks to their 13th consecutive victory, 127-103 over the Pistons.
Photo: AFP
The last time the Bucks had a longer winning streak than this was when they won 16 in a row spanning the end of the 1972-1973 season and the beginning of 1973-1974. They also had a 13-game run shortly after that 16-game streak ended.
Milwaukee won all eight matchups with the Pistons last season — four in the regular season and four in the first round of the playoffs. The Bucks also beat Detroit last month in their first meeting of this season.
There were six technical fouls in this game and there were words exchanged during a couple mild altercations. The first involved Antetokounmpo and Griffin after they collided around midcourt in the second quarter.
“There’s going to be a lot of teams that are going to come out and try to be physical with me — try to hit me, knock me down to the floor,” Antetokounmpo said. “I just got to keep my composure.”
In the third quarter, Antetokounmpo fell to the ground after being fouled and then Griffin stepped over him. Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton came over to confront Griffin. Three technicals were assessed after that.
“That’s going to happen. In a competitive game, it’s going to happen,” Pistons coach Dwane Casey said. “If anything, that should get you more focused, more riled up, more ready to play, more ready to compete and more ready to be physical and finish at the rim. All those things you have to do in a competitive game like that, a physical game like that.”
The Bucks went on a 13-2 run late in the second quarter to lead 57-39, and although Detroit closed to within 11 at the half, the Pistons never made a major run during the final two quarters.
Antetokounmpo scored 12 points in the third and Milwaukee led 92-72 after three.
“I liked our fire in the second quarter. I liked our fire in general,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “I think the guys, they’re in a good place. They’re playing good basketball. So we’ll keep it going.”
Andre Drummond had 23 points and 14 rebounds for Detroit. Middleton had 17 points for the Bucks.
In other results, it was:
‧ Lakers 121, Jazz 96
‧ Mavericks 121, Timberwolves 114
‧ Celtics 112, Heat 93
‧ Hornets 106, Warriors 91
‧ Nets 130, Hawks 118
‧ Trail Blazers 127, Kings 116
‧ Magic 128, Suns 114
‧ Pacers 107, Thunder 100
‧ Bulls 106, Grizzlies 99
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