Giannis a giant as Bucks bury Pistons

Antetokounmpo puts up 41 to lead Milwaukee to easy sweep of Detroit

DETROIT - Giannis Antetokounmpo drove to the hoop and drew yet another foul, this one a hard hack on the arm by Blake Griffin.

Griffin fouled out and headed to the bench as the home crowd gave him a standing ovation. Then many fans headed toward the exits.

Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks were on their way to another rout against the Detroit Pistons on Monday night.

Antetokounmpo scored 41 points as the Bucks won 127-104, completing a four-game sweep and advancing to the second round of the NBA Easter Conference playoffs for the first time since 2001.

The last time the Bucks won a postseason series, they made it all the way to the conference final. This year's team isn't there yet, but so far Milwaukee looks the part of the top seed in the East.

"I remember our first playoff series (in 2015)," Antetokounmpo said. "Chicago, Game 6, they beat us by 50 or something insane. But where we were and where we are right now, it's been an unbelievable journey."

On Monday, Milwaukee closed the third quarter with a 17-3 run, taking a 10-point lead after the Pistons had led much of the way.

Detroit set an NBA record with its 14th consecutive playoff loss, a skid that began in 2008.

The Bucks will face Boston in the second round. The Celtics are coming off a sweep of their own against the Indiana Pacers.

"I think it's important that we take a second tonight to enjoy it," Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. "It's a good night for Milwaukee. It's a good night for the Bucks."

Reggie Jackson scored 20 of his 26 points in the first half for Detroit. Griffin fouled out with 7:06 remaining after scoring 22. He missed the first two games of the series with knee problems.

"Blake played his heart out with basically one leg," said Pistons coach Dwane Casey, whose voice was hoarse during his postgame news conference.

"He fought through a lot of pain and swelling."

Griffin was on the bench for much of Milwaukee's crucial run, including the final 4:35 of the third quarter.

Antetokounmpo scored 16 points in that quarter, half of which came on free throws.

Detroit led 20-8 early after a dunk by Griffin. The Pistons were up 62-56 at halftime but still couldn't prevent a fourth straight blowout at the hands of the team that had the NBA's best regular-season record.

Milwaukee won the four games by a total of 95 points, and no game was closer than 16.

Free reign

Milwaukee went 31 of 41 on free throws; Detroit was only 9 of 12. Casey was called for a technical foul in the third, and the fans weren't at all pleased with the officiating.

At one point Milwaukee had a 32-8 edge in free-throw attempts, but when that stat was posted on the main video board, there didn't seem to be any further reaction from the Detroit crowd.

"Giannis shooting eight more free throws than our entire team - you're not going to win a game like that," Griffin said. "And their team shooting 41. Some of that's on us."

The Bucks outscored the Pistons 62-42 in the paint and finished with 10 blocked shots to Detroit's one.

Brook Lopez had five blocks and Antetokounmpo had four, including one on Ish Smith that looked more like a volleyball spike.

Associated Press