This felt like a game where Detroit beat themselves – a game we’ve seen many times before two or three seasons ago. Luckily, those days are behind us now. The game started off with a Giannis Antetokounmpo injury a few minutes in as Detroit started the game on a 19-4 run. They had their biggest lead of the game 30-12 late in the first quarter as it looked like we were headed towards a blowout. That’s when Milwaukee’s 2-3 zone started causing some issues. The Bucks started to claw back in the second quarter because they packed the paint and forced the Pistons to play slow. Detroit had no Duncan Robinson in a game where they crucially needed him. After leading by 18, the Pistons held onto a narrow 52-49 lead at halftime. The Cade-Duren pick and roll was nonexistent due to the 2-3 zone. Both struggled creating opportunities at the rim with Myles Turner sitting in the paint. Isaiah Stewart brought the intensity defensively, but after a complaint to the ref and a tussle with Bobby Portis, two technical fouls made him hit the showers early. This isn’t the first time he has gotten thrown out of a Milwaukee game where the team would go on to need him down the stretch, just to lose the game. There were too many possessions of Detroit players passing up open threes to drive into an already busy paint to force up an attempt near the rim. At times, it was like this Pistons team had never played against a zone before. I hate to give Doc Rivers a compliment, but it was a great idea not playing man defense against Detroit. They were happy to help off Ausar Thompson and were willing to live with his open three-point attempts. There were no explosive halfcourt alley-oop lobs to Jalen Duren. The Pistons led by seven heading into the third quarter, yet they would be outscored 35-24 in the fourth to go on to lose 113-109 to Milwaukee. Detroit was down three with 12 seconds left and Cade airballed the game-tying attempt – a good summary of the game overall. Tobias Harris and Jaden Ivey were the lone bright spots for Detroit – they both shot 50% from the field and made multiple much needed three-pointers. Harris led the team with 20 points, and Ivey saw a season-high in minutes (19) and points (15). Guards Daniss Jenkins, Cade Cunningham, and Caris LeVert combined to shoot 3-for-20 from deep tonight. That was the story of the game – Milwaukee packed the paint against the league-leading team for points in the paint, and dared them to shoot. Tonight, it worked. Detroit will play again Friday night against the Portland Trailblazers at Little Caesars Arena. Go Stones. ...read more read less