Lillard has 45 points and 11 assists to lead the Bucks past the Pistons, 141-135
Damian Lilliard had 45 points and 11 assists to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 141-135 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Saturday.
Giannis Antetokounmpo added 31 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, but missed 11 of his 22 free throw attempts. Brook Lopez had 19 points for the Bucks, who have won four of five.
Alec Burks (33) and Ausur Thompson (career-high 22) combined for 55 points for Detroit's second unit, but Bojan Bogdanovic (19) and Jaden Ivey (18) were the only starters to reach double figures in the opener of a two-game series.
The Pistons are 2-37 in their last 39 games, including a record-tying 28-game losing streak. They host Milwaukee again Monday.
Antetokounmpo had five points in a 9-0 run that gave the Bucks a 126-121 lead with 4:40 to play, but he missed his 10th free throw seconds later.
Lillard, though, scored five straight points to push Milwaukee's lead back to 134-126 with 2:11 left.
Detroit missed seven of its first eight shots in the third, allowing Milwaukee to go ahead 80-71. Antetokounmpo continued to struggle from the line, missing eight of his first 12 attempts to keep Detroit in the game.
Lillard finished with 19 points in the quarter, giving him 36 for the game, but the Pistons were still within 103-98 at the end of the third. Mike Muscala hit back-to-back 3-pointers early in the fourth, putting Detroit up 106-105.
The Bucks took a 70-67 halftime lead on Lilliard's 31-footer at the buzzer. He had 17 points and seven assists as both teams shot over 50% from the floor.