Bucks 96, Pistons 85

Pistons falter again in second half, lose to Bucks

Ted Kulfan / The Detroit News

Milwaukee -- In some ways, Saturday's game was a carbon copy of the Pistons' loss Friday night.

They led at halftime, tenuous as it was, before the Bucks exploded in the second half en route to a 96-85 victory.

"We had an outstanding effort in the first half," Pistons coach John Kuester said. "They (the Bucks) played with the type of passion I expect us (to play with). We gave them life in the third period."

The Bucks outscored the Pistons 36-14 in the third quarter, turning a 49-38 halftime deficit into a 74-63 lead.

The Pistons committed three consecutive turnovers early in the third, resulting in Milwaukee buckets and quickly changing the momentum.

"We can't afford to come out and take off the first five minutes," said Ben Wallace, who finished with eight points and 10 rebounds. "We got ourselves into a dogfight and they took advantage of it."

Ben Gordon led the Pistons with 26 points, while Rodney Stuckey added 13. Charlie Villanueva and Tayshaun Prince both scored 12.

Brandon Jennings scored 24 for the Bucks and Hakim Warrick 21.

Jennings, the Bucks' ultra-quick, first-round draft pick, keyed a 12-0 run in the third, turning a 55-50 deficit into a 62-55 lead. Jennings had nine of the 12 points.

"He had some good looks and is playing with a lot of confidence, but we did a good job on him early on," Kuester said. "He got it going (in the third quarter), attacking the basket."

Right now, though, the Pistons have to figure out how to close games.

"Those third quarters, -- it seems like we have control of the game in the first half -- it's exactly what happened (Friday) against Oklahoma City," Villanueva said. "It just seems like in the third quarter, I don't know what it is, but it seems like a team makes a run and we can't respond."

Said Milwaukee's Warrick: "We tried to get out right away and get some transition points. We did a much better job in the second half pushing the tempo and that's what got us over the top."

ted.kulfan@detnews.com