Giannis Anthetokounmpo threw a triple notch with 32 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds, and Milwaukee Bucks welcomed the Seed 5 of the Eastern Conference with 125-119 win against the Detroit Pistons on Friday night.
Bobby Portis made a bench from 17 points and 10 rebounds and Kevin Porter Jr. He made 16 points and seven assists. Brook Lopez scored 15 points, Taurean Prince and Kyle Kuzma added 10 pieces.
Bucks (47-34) pushed the winning line to 12 games over the pistons. Bucks dating back to the 2018-19 season defeated pistons on 24 of the 25 meetings.
Cade Cunningham carried the pistons (44-37) with 36 points and 12 assists. Malik Beasley received 21 points, Tobias Harris 17, and Dennis Schroder added 12 with eight assists. Detroit will be the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
The teams meet again at Milwaukee for the normal season finale on Sunday.
With Bucks, Anthetokounmpo and Portis, 68-65 ahead of the first half.
Cunningham carried pistons in the first half of 21. The teams merged for only six turnover.
The Anthetokounmpo had a third quarter of 13 points, but Bucks just went fourth.
The pistons took the lead 103-101 and left Beasley and Cunningham 3 points and 10 minutes. Gary Trent Jr. Later he warmed up for Milwaukee and overthrew the sequential trio. After making a long ball to attract Detroit to a point, Cunningham left an Anthetokounmpo, Porter and Trent twice. This gave Milwaukee an advantage of 111-106.
Porter made a dunk to get ahead of seven. The pistons lasted their gap to four, 115-111, and 3:30 remained in the Harris order.
A Portis flooring and Aj Green 3-Painter gave Bucks a nine-point pillow for 1:51.
The pistons wouldn’t go quietly. Beasley evacuated the 3-with-3-withdrawal with 17 seconds to make 122-119, but Porter responded with two free throws. Detroit came empty in the next hand to provide a Bucks victory.
-FELD level media
