Bucks pummel Pistons, Damian Lillard leads Milwaukee with 33 points

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Damian Lillard drives to the basket against Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

MILWAUKEE - Damian Lillard scored 33 points, Bobby Portis had a season-high 31 and the Milwaukee Bucks trounced Detroit 146-114 on Saturday to hand the Pistons their 23rd consecutive loss.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 22 points, eight rebounds and six assists while shooting 7 of 9 in his first game since scoring a franchise-record 64 points Wednesday. Antetokounmpo’s record night came in a 140-126 victory over the Indiana Pacers that featured a postgame confrontation between the teams in the arena hallway involving a dispute over the game ball.

Detroit has matched the NBA’s third-longest skid within the same season. The 1995-96 Vancouver Grizzlies, 1997-98 Denver Nuggets and 2011-12 Charlotte Bobcats also lost 23 straight.

The record for the longest losing streak within a single season is shared by the 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers and 2013-14 Philadelphia 76ers, who both dropped 26 consecutive games. The 76ers also had a 28-game losing streak that started in the 2014-15 season and carried over to 2015-16.

One night after getting blown out 124-92 at Philadelphia, the Pistons again couldn’t compete with one of the East’s top teams. The Bucks never trailed, led by as many as 34 and matched their highest point total of the season despite resting Lillard and Antetokounmpo for the entire fourth quarter.

Cade Cunningham scored 25 and Bojan Bogdanovic added 24 for the Pistons.

The Bucks were missing Malik Beasley due to a non-COVID illness, and they also held out Khris Middleton as they continue to manage his surgically repaired right knee. Detroit didn’t have Isaiah Stewart due to a sprained left shoulder.

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With Beasley and Middleton unavailable, MarJon Beauchamp made his first start of the season and scored the game’s first seven points. Beauchamp's early onslaught set the tone for the Bucks' lopsided victory.

Portis’ 31 points represented his highest total since joining the Bucks in 2020, and his 12 rebounds also were a season high. The highest-scoring game of his career came when he had 38 points for the Chicago Bulls against Philadelphia on Feb. 22, 2018.

Beauchamp and Cameron Payne had 11 points apiece. Bucks rookie Andre Jackson Jr. made a rare start and ended up with 10 points and eight rebounds, both career highs.

Up next

Pistons: Visit the Atlanta Hawks on Monday.

Bucks: Host the Houston Rockets on Sunday.