Stanley Johnson racked up 19 points, six rebounds and four assists after being moved to the second unit, and the Detroit Pistons snapped a three-game losing streak by crushing the Milwaukee Bucks 110-87 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Wednesday.
Detroit tweaked its lineup, inserting James Ennis III at small forward and moving Johnson to the bench. That gave its reserve corps a boost, as four of them reached double figures. Langston Galloway had 13 points, Eric Moreland posted career highs with 10 points, 12 rebounds and six assists and Dwight Buycks had 12 points, four assists and four steals.
Reggie Bullock added 16 points and Andre Drummond supplied 15 points and 16 rebounds for the Pistons. Blake Griffin chipped in eight points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
Eric Bledsoe led the Bucks with 19 points, six rebounds and four assists. Khris Middleton tossed in 17 points but All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo was held to 11 points in 29 minutes. Antetokounmpo was accidently poked in the eye by Johnson early in the fourth quarter and did not return.
Milwaukee, which lost at home to Washington on Tuesday, was outrebounded 57-35.
The Bucks’ backcourt was depleted as Tony Snell, Matthew Dellavedova and Malcolm Brogdon sat out with an assortment of injuries.
Griffin and Drummond were a combined 3-for-14 from the field in the opening half, but the Pistons still emerged with a 53-44 halftime advantage. Bullock scored 14 first-half points, and Detroit finished the half on a 16-4 run. Antetokounmpo was held in check, as he only posted eight points and two assists and had no rebounds.
The Pistons led by at least five points in the third quarter and gradually built it up to 20. Johnson was the spark plug, scoring 10 points in the quarter. He then became a playmaker, setting up a Drummond dunk and a Galloway 3-pointer. That finished off a 14-3 Pistons run to give them an 83-63 lead.
Antetokounmpo made a 3-pointer just before the third-quarter buzzer to pull Milwaukee within 85-70.
Detroit opened the fourth quarter with an 18-2 run.
–Field Level Media
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