National Basketball Association
Detroit 98, Milwaukee 83
When: 6:00 PM ET, Sunday, October 30, 2016
Where: The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan
Officials: #33 Sean Corbin, #72 J.T. Orr, #23 Jason Phillips
Attendance: 15161

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Good things come in 20s for Andre Drummond.

Drummond notched his 10th career 20-20 game with 20 points and 23 rebounds, and the Detroit Pistons won their second straight, topping the Milwaukee Bucks 98-83 Sunday at The Palace.

It was also the second straight 20-rebound game for the All-Star center, who added three blocks and two steals for the Pistons (2-1).

Drummond made half of his 16 field-goal attempts and went 4-for-8 from the foul line.

Some of Drummond's points came off his eight offensive boards, but he also displayed some improved post moves.

"I worked hard this summer in all aspects of my game and the work is just showing," he said. "One of the biggest things I worked on this summer was attacking from the faceup. I'm a lot quicker than most of the bigs in the league and I used it to my advantage. It's working really well."

Defenses are collapsing on Drummond on pick-and-rolls but he's still finding ways to be efficient.

"He's just been really willing offensively to give himself up," coach Stan Van Gundy said. "He knows the attention he will draw. That's frustrating at times but he's still getting shots. A lot of offensive rebounds, but he's still getting the ball down there and getting a chance to score. It's not an easy way to play. It's a way to play when you're all about winning."

Guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope supplied 21 points and six rebounds, Tobias Harris had 16 points, and Marcus Morris and Ish Smith chipped in 11 points apiece for Detroit.

Forward Giannis Antetokounmpo carried the Bucks (1-2) with 17 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and three blocks. Jabari Parker had 13 points and six rebounds, center Greg Monroe tossed in 11 points off the bench, and Matthew Dellavedova contributed 10 points and five assists for Milwaukee.

The Bucks, who lost three of four to Detroit last season, were coming off a last-second victory over Brooklyn on Saturday night. The Pistons were the more energetic bunch, out-rebounding Milwaukee 58-40 and racing to 21 fast-break points, compared to the Bucks' nine.

"They made a few runs but we didn't do a good job trying to stop their momentum and get it back within reach," Dellavedova said. "We'd have a play or two where we wouldn't come up with the loose ball or they would get a rebound and pull away again. I felt like we were always chasing them on the scoreboard."

Detroit held a 57-47 lead early in the third. Antetokounmpo then led the Bucks on a 13-5 spurt, scoring seven points in that span.

Harris and Caldwell-Pope nudged the Pistons' advantage back up to 10 by the end of the quarter. Following a Harris bucket, Caldwell-Pope drained a 3-pointer. In the closing seconds, Caldwell-Pope made a steal and fed Harris for a dunk to make it 75-65.

"The best thing of the game was we played a pretty low energy third quarter for nine minutes and let them right back in the game but we responded well to that and opened it back up to double figures," Van Gundy said. "We basically did it with our defense in the last three minutes and getting out in transition."

Bucks coach Jason Kidd also looked at the final minutes of the third as the key to the game.

"We stopped rebounding and they got opportunities for offensive rebounds and turnovers and got the lead back up to 10 to end the quarter," he said. "From there, we just kept getting posted (up)."

Milwaukee cut the lead to six points in the opening moments of the fourth, but a 9-2 Pistons run upped the advantage to 90-75. Morris started it with a 3-pointer. A pullup jumper by Harris extended the lead to double digits, and Drummond followed with a put-back slam. Harris capped it off with a short jumper.

The Bucks never threatened from that point.

NOTES: Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy considers Milwaukee's 6-foot-11 F Giannis Antetokounmpo a "unique player" because the big man is the primary ballhandler. "In a league of extremely gifted players and athletes, he's unique even by those standards," Van Gundy said. "He has the size of a center and the skills of a guard." ... Pistons SG Reggie Bullock was inactive because of back spasms. ... Bucks PG Jason Terry didn't travel with the team for personal reasons. ... Van Gundy indicated that it is doubtful the team will reach an extension agreement with SG Kentavious Caldwell-Pope prior to Monday's deadline. ... The Bucks' average has jumped from 24.5 years at the start of last season to 26.4 this year, close to the league average of 26.7. ... Milwaukee PF John Henson's game-winning tip-in on Saturday against Brooklyn was his first career buzzer-beater.
Top Game Performances
 
Milwaukee   Detroit
Giannis Antetokounmpo 17 Scoring Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 21
Giannis Antetokounmpo 8 Assists Ish Smith 7
Giannis Antetokounmpo 8 Rebounds Andre Drummond 23
Giannis Antetokounmpo 6 Free Throws Made Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 5
Rashad Vaughn 3 Steals Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 2
Giannis Antetokounmpo 3 Blocks Andre Drummond 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Milwaukee 83 39.1 4-17 11-14 22 40 4 10 12
Detroit 98 44.3 5-20 15-20 23 58 4 8 16
Upcoming Games
  • Detroit will play their next game at home against New York. The Pistons have a W/L % of 1.000 after a win and .500 after a loss.
  • Milwaukee will play their next game on the road against New Orleans. The Bucks have a W/L % of .000 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.