Monroe, Beasley push Bucks past Pistons
Monroe, Beasley push Bucks past Pistons
MILWAUKEE -- With Jabari Parker out for the season and Giannis Antetokounmpo not hitting shots, Monday night could have been another disastrous outing for the Milwaukee Bucks, who have been clinging to hope in the Eastern Conference playoff race after dropping 12 of their last 15 games.
But 25 points from Greg Monroe and 23 from Michael Beasley helped Milwaukee buck that recent trend and knock off the Detroit Pistons 102-89 at the Bradley Center.
"We have 14 guys ready every night," said Beasley, who topped 20 points for the second time this season. "Fourteen guys ready to play at a high level. Tonight, I think it showed. You just have to pick up the slack. With Jabari down and Giannis not making shots, you can't just call it a night."
Beasley hit his first five shots from the field and had 10 points in the first quarter. Monroe started off hot, too, making his first seven shots and scored 13 in the first half as Milwaukee built a 51-34 lead.
But while those two were dominating, the rest of the Bucks struggled to find the hoop, especially from outside, where the Bucks made just 2 of 11 3-point attempts before the break.
Detroit didn't fare much better, hitting only 1 of 8 long-distance attempts in the first half and 7 of 21 overall.
"Our focus wasn't as great as it needed to be tonight, especially in a game we needed to win," Pistons forward Tobias Harris said. "This would have been a big win for us. ...
"When you step on the floor, you have to be ready for whatever. Tonight, I don't think we were as mentally focused as we needed to be."
Andre Drummond scored 16 of his 21 points in the first quarter. Marcus Morris led Detroit with 26 and Jon Leuer added 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Pistons, who gave up 19 points on 17 turnovers.
"We couldn't handle the ball against their defense," Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy said. "They did a great job. That's their defense. When they force turnovers and get out in the open court, they are good. When they don't force turnovers, they haven't been very good defensively, and we turned the ball over.
"Their pressure was good, and then I thought we made a lot of mindless passes and weren't very forceful offensively. It was a night we didn't play well and I didn't help them. I didn't have any answers. It was a bad night."
After the Bucks stretched its lead to 22 early in the third quarter, the Pistons answered with a 9-0 run to get within 13 with 9:18 left in the quarter.
Antetokounmpo had gone scoreless to that point but snapped out of his drought with six in the quarter and finished with eight points.
"Giannis maybe didn't play his best game offensively, but he found other ways to get involved defensively, rebounding, setting guys up, setting screens, letting other guys score the ball and finding open guys," Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. "That's what all-stars do. That's what the best player on a team does."
A 7-0 Detroit run made it an 11-point deficit with 9:29 left. It wasn't enough to challenge the Bucks, who were 9 of 14 from the field in the fourth quarter.
"We were bad," Van Gundy said. "It was just a bad night."
NOTES: Bucks G Khris Middleton scored 11 points in 18 minutes. After missing the first 50 games of the season while recovering from a torn hamstring, Middleton played two games and then did not travel Saturday to Indiana, where the Bucks played the second half of a back-to-back. ... The Bucks had allowed opponents to score 100 points or more in 18 consecutive games. ... Pistons C Andre Drummond had 21 points and 12 rebounds. He leads the Eastern Conference with 37 double-doubles this season. ... Monday marked the return of Henry Ellenson to the Bradley Center. The Pistons' big man is a native of Rice Lake, Wis., who played for Marquette, which shares the arena with the Bucks. ... The Pistons snapped a three-game road losing streak Sunday night at Toronto but have lost 10 of their past 14 road games. ... The Pistons fell for the fifth time in their past six visits to Milwaukee. ... Detroit began the night with a two-game lead over Milwaukee for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot. The teams meet once more this season on March 31 in Milwaukee.