The band is back together,” Antetokounmpo said.
Middleton, who hadn’t played since Dec. 15 due to a sore right knee, had eight points
and four assists as a steadying presence for the Central Division-leading Bucks.
“It was great to see everyone playing together with no real chemistry issues,” said
Bucks center Brook Lopez, who scored 21 points.
Milwaukee scored 49 points in the first quarter, two shy of the NBA record, and led
Detroit by 25 after Antetokounmpo made all six of his shots in eight-plus minutes.
“I was trying to be aggressive and some shots fell,” he said.
After drawing defenders, Antetokounmpo also had two assists along with two
rebounds in the opening quarter.
“It was impressive to come out and play the way he did,” Bucks coach Mike
Budenholzer said. “He did a little bit of everything, just like the whole group that in
that quarter.”
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Antetokounmpo didn’t keep up his scoring pace the rest of the game, but he didn’t
have to with teammates such as reserve Bobby Portis scoring 12 of his 18 points in
the second quarter.
Milwaukee led 83-55 at halftime, had 115 after three quarters and finished with a
season high in points in a game that wasn’t competitive beyond the opening minutes.
“The first quarter is what I was afraid would happen,” Detroit coach Dwane Casey
said. “A championship-caliber team came in and put their stamp on the game at the
beginning. We didn’t respond, and that’s how you give up a 49-point first quarter. I
liked our fight after that, but this is a 48-minute game.”
Mercifully, the Bucks held the ball and were called for a shot-clock violation in the
final seconds when they were three points from matching the most by an NBA team
this season.
“I’m sure the basket looked big for them,” Budenholzer said.
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 33 points and rookie Jalen Duren had a season-high 23
points and 14 rebounds for the Pistons, who have won an Eastern Conference-low 12
games and are ahead of only Houston in the league-wide standings.
Detroit rookie Jaden Ivey had 12 points and 11 assists, and Hamidou Diallo added 11
points off the bench.
“The challenge at that point is looking at the scoreboard and telling yourself there’s
no 31-point shot,” said Detroit’s Saddiq Bey, who scored 21 points.
