The NBA in-season tournament may not mean much to perennial contenders, but the Detroit Pistons look at it as a major event.
The Pistons are 3-0 in the NBA Cup and can win Group B by defeating Milwaukee in Detroit on Tuesday night. The Bucks are also undefeated in group play.
The Pistons rolled to a 130-106 road win over Indiana on Friday for their third win in the tournament.
“The sense of urgency is high for sure,” guard Cade Cunningham said. “We need every game we can get anyways, but I remember last year, Indiana ran it up on us in the in-season tournament and how serious they took it. They were going for points, they just beat us up. This game was really personal for us, but in general, we all wanna go to Vegas and we all want to experience winning something. We’re going for it.”
The Pistons have already defeated Miami and Toronto in NBA Cup matchups. The winner of Tuesday’s contest will host a quarterfinal game.
“Our guys wanted to win,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said of Detroit’s win over the Pacers. “They came out with a sense of urgency. We talked about it, but this gives our guys an opportunity to play games of significance and see how they respond. I thought our guys did a great job of responding in a positive way, playing with that sense of urgency that you need to play with to win games of significance.”
However, Detroit played the following evening and lost at home to Philadelphia, 111-96. Cunningham sat out with a hip injury that previously cost him three games, but he’s expected to play on Tuesday.
Bickerstaff partially blamed the defeat on travel issues.
“Our guys were exhausted,” he said. “We sat on the runway (Friday) night until 2:30, 3 o’clock in the morning, got home at 4 o’clock in the morning in a snowstorm. Drove home. By the time they got to bed it was 5, 5:30.”
The Bucks have won six in a row, including a 124-114 victory over Washington on Saturday in which Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 42 points and had 12 rebounds and 11 assists.
The team’s stars, Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, have carried the load during the hot streak.
“Now we’re going into our second year playing together, and our chemistry has been incredible so far,” Antetokounmpo said. “He hits me in the pocket. If he doesn’t hit me in the pocket, that means he has an open shot. He can get downhill, make another play. I think we trust one another. We definitely trust way more one another’s decision-making and we give one another space to operate.”
Lillard had 25 points and 10 assists against the Wizards.
“I thought Giannis and Dame down the stretch really played the two-man game,” coach Doc Rivers said.
Milwaukee has dominated the Pistons in recent seasons. The Bucks have won 10 in a row over the Pistons and 22 of the last 23 meetings.
Milwaukee won the first matchup this season, 127-120, in overtime with Antetokounmpo scoring 59 points.