Giannis Antetokounmpo had 32 points (30 in the paint) and 12 rebounds, and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Detroit Pistons 107-104.
Sterling Brown’s corner 3-pointer put the Bucks ahead for good with 6:13 left in the fourth quarter.
The Pistons got within 100-99 on Stanley Johnson’s 28-foot 3-pointer with 3:46 to play, but Antetokounmpo answered with a dunk, and the Pistons got no closer. They had the ball down 3 after a timeout, but Blake Griffin missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have tied it.
During clutch time, the Bucks outscored the Pistons 9-7. Antetokounmpo scored 7 of the Bucks’ 9 on 3 for 3 shooting and 1 for 1 at the line. In the fourth quarter, Jose Calderon had 5 assists off the bench, 1 of them on a basket by Reggie Bullock Jr. that tied the game and 1 on a basket by Johnson that put the Pistons ahead. In that stretch, Eric Bledsoe had 2 steals, one of them leading to Sterling Brown’s floater that put the Bucks ahead 90-89, and the Bucks scored 5 points off them.
Khris Middleton had 22 points and 6 assists.
For the Pistons, Bullock scored 24 points on 9 for 14 shooting, and Johnson added 20 points off the bench. Johnson scored 16 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter.
The Pistons committed 16 turnovers to the Bucks’ 11. The Bucks outscored the Pistons 64-36 in the paint.