NBA: Surging Detroit flattens banged-up Milwaukee for 2nd straight win

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The Detroit Pistons rammed over the Giannis Antetokounmpo-less Milwaukee Bucks, 124-112, during their Eastern Conference matchup in the ongoing NBA regular season on Dec. 7, 2025.

Fresh off a tightly contested dub over the Portland Trail Blazers, the Pistons ought to have a change of scenery and revert to their dominant ways, pummeling the undermanned Bucks squad, who are still missing the Greek Freak due to a right calf strain injury.

However, it wasn’t an expected walk in the park during the first half as Milwaukee’s Kevin Porter Jr. made life miserable for the Pistons.

The lefty scoring machine scored in a variety of ways that kept the Bucks afloat, helping Milwaukee pull within five points at halftime after going down by double digits in the opener.

When the Bucks continued to rely on Porter Jr.’s hot hands, the Pistons devised a unique plan in the second half, and none of that involved deploying double-teams to slow down the crafty guard.

Instead of focusing on Porter Jr., Detroit locked up the other four Milwaukee players and let him tango on his own. As a result, his personal brilliance failed to match the Pistons’ all-out balanced attack, paving the way for a lopsided second-half showing.

No matter what scoring barrage Porter Jr. delivered for the Bucks, the quartet of Cade Cunningham, Isaiah Stewart, Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson held the fort for Detroit.

An unfortunate stretch midway through the fourth halted Milwaukee’s scoring spree, after Porter Jr. finally entered an offensive drought that put the Pistons ahead by double digits until the final buzzer sounded.

The story of the game also came down to the rebounding battle, where Detroit out-hustled Milwaukee, 63-47, helping them control the tempo and pace of the game with 16 offensive boards.

Cunningham was nothing but spectacular for the Pistons as the two-way superstar tallied a double-double performance of 23 points, 12 assists, six boards and a block.

Stewart, who only averaged seven points during the last three games, came up big with 19 markers built from an efficient 6-of-8 shooting from the field.

On the other hand, Porter Jr. had himself a night for the Bucks, dropping a game-high 32-point production derived from an insane 11-of-16 shooting, including seven drained 3-pointers.

After winning back-to-back games, the Pistons will be taking a much-needed six-day rest before challenging the rolling Atlanta Hawks at home on Dec. 13, 2025.