The Detroit Pistons battled but fell short against the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday, locking in their playoff position a little over a week before before the postseason tips off April 19.
Cade Cunningham scored 36 points for the second night in a row and dished out 12 assists, but it wasn't enough in a 125-119 loss to the Bucks. The Pistons (44-37) will be the Eastern Conference's sixth seed and face the New York Knicks (who clinched the third seed with Indiana's loss to Orlando) in the first round. The Pistons won the season series against the Knicks, 3-1, with the final win coming Thursday night at Little Caesars Arena.
A dagger 3-pointer from AJ Green with 1:51 to play pushed the Bucks' lead to 120-111, just enough to hang onto the win. Malik Beasley brought the Pistons within three, 122-119, with 15.3 seconds left. Kevin Porter Jr. then iced the game on the other end, hitting a pair of free throws with 10.5 seconds on the clock to make it a two-possession game.
The Pistons were without Isaiah Stewart, who missed the second half of a back-to-back with right knee inflammation. It robbed them of their best defender against Giannis Antetokounmpo, who tallied a triple-double with 32 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds.
Jalen Duren had a double-double for the Pistons with 11 points and 16 rebounds.
Cade Cunningham remains hot in home finale
Fresh off of an efficient 36-point night in a win over the New York Knicks on Thursday, Cunningham kept it rolling against the Bucks. He was on fire out of the gate, leading all scorers with 12 points in the opening quarter on 6-for-8 shooting.
After he checked out toward the end of the first, the Pistons’ offense went cold and Milwaukee used a 21-1 run to take the lead, extending it to 45-36 at the 10:01 mark of the second quarter. Cunningham checked back in with seven minutes left before the half and immediately knocked down a midrange jumper.
With the Pistons trailing by eight at the 4:13 mark, Cunningham made a series of big plays to tie the game at 65 shortly before halftime. His 3-pointer with 2:49 remaining cut it to six, and he blocked Brook Lopez directly under the rim on a layup attempt the following possession. With 44 seconds left, he posted Lopez in transition, giving him 21 points on 10-for-14 shooting at halftime.
Back-to-back 3-pointers from Cunningham early in the fourth quarter gave the Pistons the lead for the first time since the first quarter, 103-101. His last bucket of the night came with 1:37 remaining, hitting a turnaround hook to answer Green's 3 that opened a nine-point lead with just under two minutes left.
