Detroit Pistons 93, Milwaukee Bucks 81: Pistons hold off late charge

Ted Kulfan / The Detroit News

Milwaukee -- Too often this season the Pistons have lost games like these.

They didn't Tuesday, though, capitalizing on the poor-shooting Bucks and swiping a 93-81 win.

This is way the Pistons envisioned winning last summer: with balanced offense, contributions from many different directions and stifling defense.

Who knows, maybe there's time to win some more games this way.

"Definitely it's only going to get better as long as we're together," said Ben Gordon, noting the Pistons' season-long injury woes. "We can get better than that. We have a lot of guys who can make plays at both ends of the court. I can envision that (a victory similar to Tuesday's) and better."

Rodney Stuckey, Tayshaun Prince and Gordon each had 18 points, and Richard Hamilton scored 15, as the Bucks had difficulty matching up all evening.

"We got a glimpse of it," said Gordon, of what the Pistons are capable of offensively. "A lot of us haven't been able to play together and develop a rhythm. It was good tonight and good to see that lineup do well."

Said Hamilton: "We really took our time and got the ball to who we wanted to get to and made the wide-open shot."

Defensively, the Pistons (18-32) held the Bucks (23-27) to 36 percent shooting (30-of-82).

After dominating the first half, the Bucks came out strong after halftime and took a 53-52 lead on Brandon Jennings' steal and layup.

But the Pistons didn't wilt and closed the third leading, 64-62.

The Pistons opened the fourth with a 15-7 run, taking a 79-69 lead and coasting to victory.

"We lost the lead but showed mental toughness to stay with it and made big shots," coach John Kuester said. "We've had good looks in certain games and hadn't made them. But we showed the determination in this game."

Except for an ugly loss Friday in Indiana, Kuester has been pleased with his team's effort and execution the last five games.

"This is something, hopefully, we can build on," Kuester said. "I've seen this progression and that is something I envisioned us being. We have to grind it out the rest of the season. You can tell by the way we approach things they're a lot more focused."

The Pistons led 20-9 after the first, capitalizing on shoddy shooting by the Bucks.

The Bucks shot 4-for-25 in the quarter (16 percent) and didn't score in the final 6:33, as the Pistons outscored them 16-0.

Gordon's 3-pointer gave the Pistons their biggest lead of the first half (27-14) with 9:20 left.

"Normally it's tough to win games when you get nine points in a quarter," Bucks coach Scott Skiles said.