The Detroit Pistons survived a tightly officiated home game on Friday. Now, they’ll look to avenge a loss earlier in the week when they host the banged-up Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night.
There were 64 fouls called and 83 free throws attempted in Detroit’s 122-116 win over Portland. Both teams were frustrated by the officiating but the Pistons kept their cool and outscored the Trail Blazers 38-31 in the fourth quarter.
“That’s growth for us, right? Things were happening out of our control, and instead of reacting to it, we went out and did the job,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “I give our guys a ton of credit for that because it wasn’t easy. (Fouls were) frustrating.
“Last year, I think that would have rattled us. But this year, you’ve seen the maturation of our group. They were able to help handle it well, stay calm and then go out and execute.”
Detroit leads the Eastern Conference with an 18-5 record but it hasn’t been blowing out opponents lately. The Pistons’ last seven games have been decided by anywhere from one to six points. They’re 4-3 in those contests.
“We’ve been in so many of these games where they’re close and tight down the stretch. And our guys have consistently been able to figure out a way to win it,” Bickerstaff said. “It’s funny – we were having a conversation, and (players) were talking about how much they like (close games). They’re into playing these types of games. I told them they were crazy. I’d like it if we were winning by 20.”
Cade Cunningham led the way on Friday with 29 points and nine assists. Duncan Robinson, who missed the previous two games with an ankle sprain, scored eight of his 14 points in the fourth quarter.
The Bucks lost their superstar, Giannis Antetokounmpo, to a calf injury in the opening quarter of their home game against Detroit on Wednesday. Milwaukee still managed to rally from an early 18-point deficit and a late five-point deficit to pull out a 113-109 victory.
With Antetokounmpo now declared out for multiple weeks, the Bucks fell at home to Philadelphia on Friday, 116-101.
The Sixers controlled the game most of the way, racing to a 69-49 halftime lead.
“It’s the way we started the game and the turnovers,” coach Doc Rivers said. “Those were the two things to me (that led to the loss) … I thought they were way more physical team to start the game.”
Rivers felt several players were trying too hard to fill the scoring and playmaking void with their superstar sidelined. Milwaukee had 18 turnovers, leading to 21 Sixers points.
“You can see early on our guards, they were trying to force the action and that’s easy to guard. It really is,” Rivers said. “So, that’s a lesson.”
To make matters worse, Milwaukee lost starting guard AJ Green to a shoulder injury.
“Losing AJ Green hurts you,” Rivers said. “We can’t sustain much more, especially with guys that make shots. You’ve still got to figure out ways to win games.”
