THREE TAKEAWAYS
1. Giannis Antetokounmpo played only five first-quarter minutes but was the catalyst in a 17-5 outburst late in the first half when the Bucks took command. They made three-pointers on four straight possessions, with Antetokounmpo assisting on three of them. “Those 4 threes in a row really kind of helped us push the game open,” John Henson said. “We kind of cruised from there and didn’t let them back in it.” The Bucks made half of their 22 three-point tries after going 6 for 21 in Washington on Monday.
2. Pistons center Andre Drummond had 20 points and 23 rebounds when Detroit defeated the Bucks on Oct. 30, 98-83. Drummond was limited to 16 points and nine rebounds in the rematch. “We just tried to gang box him out and do whatever we could to keep him off the boards,” said Drummond’s ex-teammate, Greg Monroe. “You have to limit their second-chance points and don’t give them any easy baskets.”
3. Bucks coach Jason Kidd said he’s not close to shaking up the lineup, even though the club is groping for consistency. Even with the win, the Bucks have gone 5-7 over the last 12 games and haven’t put more than two wins together. The Bucks are 11-10 with the current starting five of Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker at the forward spots, Henson at center and Tony Snell and Matthew Dellavedova in the backcourt. “We haven’t looked at a lineup change,” Kidd said. “We feel very comfortable with our starting group and we feel like we’re a deep team. There’s a lot of guys that can play, so to make a lineup change, we’re not in that mode right now.”
UP NEXT
Teams: Milwaukee Bucks (15-15) vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (10-22). When: 7 p.m. Friday. Where: Target Center, Minneapolis.
About the Timberwolves: Minnesota is languishing at the bottom of the Western Conference’s Northwest Division despite an abundance of young talent. Last season’s rookie of the year, Karl-Anthony Towns, is among three players — along with Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine — averaging at least 21 points a game. The Bucks swept the two-game series last season.