The Detroit Pistons were uncharacteristically wasteful in their last game. They’ll look to recapture their identity when they host the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday.
The Eastern Conference leaders held an early 18-point lead on Wednesday against the Milwaukee Bucks, who lost superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo to a calf injury in the first quarter. Milwaukee pulled within three by halftime, and although the Pistons led 108-103 in crunch time, the Bucks finished with a 10-1 run to hand them their fifth loss.
“Defensively, we were not as good as we are capable of being,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “We gave up some open threes, and that is what this team thrives off of. We had some breakdowns, where they made us pay from the 3-point line, and that allowed them to get settled in their zone, and we could not get going in transition.”
The Pistons were limited to eight fast-break points and were outscored 46-40 in the paint despite continuing to lead the NBA with 57.5 paint points per game. Milwaukee’s zone made Detroit uncomfortable.
“It was impactful because we allowed it to be, and then, it started to impact our defense,” Bickerstaff said. “It slowed us down. We got stagnant against the zone. We could have moved it a little bit better.”
Reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Month Cade Cunningham has gotten off to a slow start in December, scoring fewer than 20 points in each of the last two games.
Detroit has developed a pattern of playing close games. The Pistons’ last six games have been decided by five points or fewer, and they have posted a 3-3 record in those matches.
Their matchup against the Trail Blazers is their first against a Western Conference opponent since a win over the Utah Jazz on Nov. 5.
Portland snapped a three-game losing streak Wednesday with a 122-110 victory at the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Not surprisingly, Deni Avdija led the way with 27 points, and Caleb Love and Shaedon Sharpe supplied 20 apiece. Avdija averaged 30.0 points, 10.3 rebounds and 9.8 assists over his last four games.
The Trail Blazers will be looking to post back-to-back victories for the first time since a three-game streak in late October.
“We needed it,” Love said of Wednesday’s victory. “We’ve been in a lot of close games where we felt like we should have won or been on top. And so it was great to close out this game and get back in that win column.”
Portland was the more aggressive team on Wednesday, outrebounding the Cavaliers 54-45 and outscoring them by 13 at the free-throw line.
“It was one of the better games we had this season, just taking care of little details,” interim coach Tiago Splitter said. “These guys were there making plays and finding teammates. We talked about it this morning … how we’ve got to play together and share the ball and move the ball side-to-side and make it harder for the defense. And we did it.”
The Pistons won their last three meetings with the Trail Blazers after Portland was victorious in eight straight in the series.
