DETROIT – The Milwaukee Bucks wrapped up a mini-road trip with a 137-111 loss to the Detroit Pistons on April 8 at Little Caesars Arena. The Eastern Conference-leading Pistons won the season series vs. the Bucks (3-1), which was the first time they’ve done that since the 2015-16 season (also 3-1).
Playing on the second night of a back-to-back, the Bucks (31-49) had some extra hands on deck with the return of guards Ryan Rollins and Gary Trent Jr. Trent had not played since April 1 after suffering a hip contusion in Houston, and Rollins has been in and out of the lineup with hip issues since March 29.
Rollins scored 23 points to lead Milwaukee, but on 8-of-19 shooting. He also had six assists. Trent added seven off the bench on 3-of-12 shooting. AJ Green started hot with nine points in seven first quarter minutes, but finished with 13 points.
BOX SCORE: Pistons 137, Bucks 111
Green did make four 3-pointers, giving him 216 on the year. It is the fourth-most a Bucks player has made in a single season, trailing Ray Allen (229), Malik Beasley (224) and Damian Lillard (220).
Ousmane Dieng scored 17 points while Taurean Prince added 15 for Milwaukee. Cormac Ryan scored16 off the bench.
Detroit (58-22) had 10 players play in the opening quarter and by halftime all of them scored in giving the team a 75-57 lead at the break. The Pistons shot 59% from the floor overall in the decisive first half, while the Bucks struggled mightily (32%) from behind the 3-point line.
The Bucks hung close for most of the opening half thanks to 14 points off nine offensive rebounds and eight points off seven Pistons turnovers but ultimately were overwhelmed by the East leaders in the closing minutes of the second quarter. In the final 4 minutes, 37 seconds of the first half, the Bucks were outscored 22-8 and the game was never close again.
Detroit was led by Jalen Duren (21 points), Duncan Robinson (20) and Cade Cunningham (13 points, 10 assists). Seven different players reached double figures for the Pistons.
The Bucks will head to back Milwaukee for their home finale on April 10 at Fiserv Forum. The regular season ends on April 12 in Philadelphia.
With two victories the Bucks can win 33 games, which would match the 2015-16 team for fewest in the last decade. The 2013-14 team won 15 games, which was the worst season in franchise history as the team tanked to land a top draft pick, which eventually became Jabari Parker.
Jericho Sims records first career triple-double
April has been a special month so far for Bucks big man Jericho Sims, who first set a career-high in for rebounds in game with 20 on April 1 in Houston, and then set career marks for assists in game with six on April 3 vs. Boston and April 7 in Brooklyn.
Sims set a career mark for assists against the Pistons and kept going to record his first career triple-double. He got his 10th assist late in the fourth quarter when he found Cormac Ryan for a layup. Sims also added 11 rebounds and 11 points in 38 minutes.
He has 4 double-doubles on the season.
Bucks draft pick update
Milwaukee is still in 11th place in the Eastern Conference, a position its held since December. But with a 31-49 record, the Bucks still own the 10th worst record in the league. They still have a chance to improve their draft position should they finish with the same record, or worse, than Chicago (30-49).
The Bulls play Washington and Orlando to finish out the season.
Currently, the way the lottery works, the Bucks can either win a top four pick in the draft (13.9%) or win the No. 10 (65.9%), No. 11 (19%) and No. 12 (1.2%) picks. If they can get into the ninth position, they would get a chance to win the No. 9 pick as well.
Remember, however, should the Bucks end up with a lower draft position than New Orleans (26-54) the Pelicans can swap positions as a remnant of the 2020 Jrue Holiday trade.
Cade Cunnigham returns for Pistons
Detroit got a boost in one of its final regular season tuneups with the return of all-star point guard Cade Cunningham. The 24-year-old suited up for the first time since suffering a collapsed lung during a game on March 17. He missed 11 games, rendering him ineligible for any postseason awards like MVP or all-NBA.
Cunningham was limited to 26 minutes, but he looked strong in scoring 13 points on 6 of 11 shooting while handing out 10 assists and pulling down five rebounds.
5 numbers
6: Teams in the league have had one starting lineup for at least 38 games heading into game play on April 8 (Minnesota, Charlotte, Houston, New York, Detroit and Houston).
29: Games in which Ryan Rollins scored at least 20 points this season. The Most Improved Player candidate is averaging over 17 points per game, 11 more than a season ago.
37: Different starting lineups the Bucks have used this year after beginning the game with Ousmane Dieng, AJ Green, Taurean Prince, Jericho Sims and Ryan Rollins.
.466: AJ Green’s 3-point percentage over his last seven games (28-for-60). He has made at least five 3-pointers in three of those games.
.484: Doc Rivers’ winning percentage as the Bucks head coach (96-102) with two games remaining in the season. It is the only stop in his 27-year Hall of Fame career in which he went under .500.
Giannis Antetokounmpo not cleared to play
Giannis Antetokounmpo was ruled out for his 13th straight game with a hyperextension and bone bruise in his left knee hours before the Bucks took on the Pistons. He suffered the injuries on March 15 when he landed awkwardly following a dunk.
There is an ongoing investigation by the NBA into the Bucks handling of Antetokounmpo’s injury and holding him out. In an interview on April 7, Bucks GM Jon Horst stated the 31-year-old, two-time MVP has not yet been medically cleared to return to action.
That said, Horst did not rule Antetokounmpo out for the remainder of the season and the GM acknowledged he hoped to know more about Antetokounmpo’s progress through this rehab schedule on April 8.
Unfortunately for Antetokounmpo, who looked solemn in the Bucks’ pregame locker room during a conversation with Bucks trainer Tommy Brice, he was not cleared to play against the Pistons.
Milwaukee’s final two regular season games on April 10 vs. Brooklyn at Fiserv Forum and April 12 at Philadelphia.
Is Giannis playing?
No.
What time is the Bucks game?
Tip off is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT.
What channel is the Bucks game on?
The game will be broadcast locally on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin with Lisa Byington, Marques Johnson and Melanie Ricks on the call.
Milwaukee Bucks injury report
Bucks starters
Bucks vs. Pistons odds
Detroit is a 18.5-point favorite over Milwaukee and the over/under is set at 220.5 points per BetMGM.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Pistons beat Bucks 137-111, Jericho Sims records first triple-double
Reporting by Jim Owczarski, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
