Bucks 102, Pistons 89: Greg Monroe, Michael Beasley provide the offense
As far as scoring goes, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker have consistently shouldered a huge load for the Milwaukee Bucks this season, scoring over 40% of the team's points. So with Parker sidelined by a torn left ACL, a low-scoring night from Antetokounmpo might spell trouble for the Bucks.
Antetokounmpo indeed struggled on Monday night, going 2 of 9 for just eight points — his lowest output of the season when playing at least 10 minutes. However, his paltry point total was anything but problematic as Milwaukee (24-30) rolled to a 102-89 victory over the Detroit Pistons (26-30) at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
That's because the Bucks got huge contributions from others, namely Greg Monroe and Michael Beasley. That duo combined for 48 points on 22-of-28 shooting. Monroe finished with 25 points and 13 rebounds, and Beasley chipped in 23 points, four assists and three rebounds.
BOX SCORE: Bucks 102, Pistons 89
"It was huge," Monroe said of multiple players stepping up. "Every game counts. It's unfortunate that things happen like Jabari — it happens, but next man up. Giannis, he's an all-star. He's been carrying us all year, so it's only right to give him a game off."
Beasley took the first turn at lighting up the scoreboard. He got hot quickly, pouring in 10 points in seven first-quarter minutes to help the Bucks take a four-point lead into the second period. He didn't miss until midway through the second quarter, making 8 of 9 shots before the half.
"It was just my teammates looking for me, being aggressive, attacking the seams, getting the ball moving side to side," Beasley said. "Just playing basketball the right way. ... If it looks like I'm hot then I guess that's a great thing, but it's just the flow of the game, just taking the right shot. I shoot a lot."
Monroe then took his turn in the second. He made his first five shots of the quarter to open the game 7 of 7 — scoring on layups, jumpers and even making a steal and running the floor to finish an alley-oop — on the way to recording 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting before halftime as Milwaukee took a 51-34 advantage.
The game never got close again, as the Bucks cruised to their second consecutive victory — their first time recording back-to-back wins in a month — with one game remaining before the all-star break.
"It's been like that all season," Beasley said of Monroe's performance. "Moose is a problem, especially when his engine is going, that boy's special. Sees the floor better than any big man in the NBA, runs the floor, gets stops on defense, gets buckets on the block. Moose is Moose."
As instrumental as they were offensively, Monroe and Beasley didn't just get the job done at that end of the court. Together they spearheaded Milwaukee's active, effective play on defense, each coming up with three steals.
"Those two guys crushed us," Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy said. "And then our offense was pathetic."
Collectively, the Bucks forced 17 Pistons turnovers leading to 19 points. While part of that was taking advantage of what looked like a fatigued Detroit team one day removed from a hard-fought win in Toronto, Milwaukee unquestionably ratcheted up the intensity on defense, which is something Beasley says players have been emphasizing more in recent practices and doing a better job of holding each other accountable.
"Guys are just active, hands are moving and that's how we play," Monroe said. "That's how we were playing earlier in the year and we're getting back to it now. We have to continue to do that — that's when we're at our best."
Detroit, which never cut the margin to single digits in the second half, got 26 points from Marcus Morris and 21 points, 12 rebounds from Andre Drummond in the loss.
Tony Snell added 16 points for the Bucks and Khris Middleton played 18 minutes off the bench and showed off some vintage shooting, making multiple smooth jumpers on the way to 11 points.
Led by Monroe and Middleton, the Bucks bench churned out 49 points to help make up for Antetokounmpo's quiet 8-point, 6-assist, 4-rebound night.
"The nice thing about it is it's a team, we're not built around one person," Bucks head coach Jason Kidd said. "Giannis maybe didn't play his best game offensively but he found other ways to get involved defensively; rebounding, setting guys up, setting screens, letting other guys score the ball and finding open guys. That's what all-stars do. That's what the best player on a team does.
"I thought our bench was huge. You talk about the ball moving, but it all starts with our defense. This is another game that we played on the defensive end. We got the rebounds, that led to easy baskets. Those guys talking on defense and transition defense helped us win this game.
THREE TAKEAWAYS
1. Antetokounmpo and Matthew Dellavedova didn't contribute much in terms of scoring, with Antetokounmpo finishing with 8 points and Dellavedova going scoreless, but they did keep the ball moving and make multiple good feeds. Antetokounmpo lead the Bucks with six assists and Dellavedova added five as Milwaukee assisted on 26 of its 40 baskets.
2. The Bucks never got going from beyond the three-point line, finishing 6 of 21 (28.6%). Tony Snell was 4 of 8 and Jason Terry made 2 of 3. The Pistons weren't much better, making 7 of 21.
3. Former Marquette standout Henry Ellenson made his professional return to Milwaukee, but he was inactive for the game. Sitting at the BMO Harris Bradley Center was something he rarely did last season, with his 48 bench minutes on Monday nearly equaling the amount of time he sat during Marquette's nine Big East home games (49 minutes).
UP NEXT
Teams: Milwaukee Bucks (24-30) vs. Brooklyn Nets (9-46).
When: 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Where: Barclays Center.
About the Nets: The Nets have won just once since the calendar flipped to 2017, going 1-22 in that span, including a 112-103 home loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday. Veteran center Brook Lopez has put up solid numbers while anchoring a young roster, averaging 20.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.7 blocks per game entering Monday's action. The Bucks have had the Nets' number this season, winning all three previous matchups between the squads.