The Detroit Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks got off on the right foot to start their NBA Cup campaigns.
The teams will look to continue their good fortune at the other’s expense on Wednesday night when they meet in Milwaukee.
“Madness” was the way Detroit coach J.B. Bickerstaff described his club’s recent stretch of nail-biting results. The Pistons have split their past four outings by a total margin of six points.
Detroit dropped a one-point decision in Charlotte last Wednesday and recorded a one-point win over Atlanta two nights later on Cade Cunningham’s clutch basket and last-second block.
A two-point loss to Houston followed on Sunday after Detroit failed to capitalize on two deliberately missed free throws. That preceded Tuesday’s 123-121 overtime victory against Miami.
Heat star Tyler Herro atoned for missing a buzzer-beating base jumper at the end of regulation by sinking a 6-footer with 1.1 seconds left in overtime.
The Pistons leveled the contest after Jalen Duren converted Cunningham’s inbound lob. Malik Beasley sealed the win by draining a pair of free throws after the Heat called an illegal, excess timeout.
“That was madness,” Bickerstaff said. “But this is who they are, and we love every minute of it.
“Their resolve, all the stuff they’ve been through — multiple times they could have given in, (and thought) ‘it’s too hard’. They (Heat) were making shots, we were turning it over, and over and over, instead of laying down, they bandied together.”
Cunningham (21 points, seven rebounds, nine assists) again threatened a triple-double, while Beasley hit 5 of 11 shots from 3-point range to highlight his 21-point performance.
There were challenges on the way, with Jaden Ivey fouling out and Tim Hardaway Jr. taken off the court in a wheelchair and treated for a head injury after twice colliding with Herro.
Hardaway’s playing status is unclear.
“We had so much adversity — Tim Hardaway goes down, JD (Duren) back spasms, JI (Ivey) fouls out … we showed grit and kept playing. That’s what a team does,” Beasley said.
Milwaukee, meanwhile, recaptured some elusive form by beating the Toronto Raptors 99-85 on Tuesday.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 23 points and Bobby Portis added 17 off the bench for the Bucks, who were without star guard Damian Lillard (concussion protocol).
AJ Green was given his first start since he was a rookie, and Ryan Rollins the first of his career.
Between them, the pair had eight 3-pointers and seven steals, although Rollins’ night ended with a left shoulder injury.
The Bucks racked up 16 steals in their best defensive performance of the season. At the other end, Milwaukee attempted 56 shots from 3-point range, much to the delight of coach Doc Rivers.
“I thought the whole team had a lot of energy,” he said. “One of the things we’ve been harping on is getting to the paint and creating more 3s. Well, we shot 56 of them. If we play like that every night and get those shots, we’re going to be fine.
“I thought defensively we were great. Our hands were phenomenal.”
