With just 10 players available due to injuries or personal reasons, the Milwaukee Bucks only had a five-man bench Friday night. Those five players played so well in the fourth quarter that the starters never got back in the game.
Led by Ersan Ilyasova and Jared Dudley, Milwaukee's bench scored 69 points to lead the Bucks to a 104-88 victory over the Detroit Pistons in the Palace at Auburn Hills on Friday night.
1 big moment: After the Pistons pulled to within 74-69 at the end of the third quarter, Ilyasova scored the first six points of the fourth quarter to put Milwaukee up 80-69.
The Pistons wouldn't get within nine points in the final 11 minutes of the game.
2 top performers: Ilyasova came off the bench to score a season-high 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting, hitting 3 of 7 3-point attempts. Forced to play at center due to the absence of John Henson and Zaza Pachulia, Ilyasova added eight rebounds. The 27-year-old is averaging 15.4 points over his last eight games.
Pistons center Andre Drummond continued to play well against the Bucks, as he recorded the first 20-point, 20-rebound game in the NBA this season. Drummond made 12 of 19 field-goal attempts to finish with a season-high 26 points to go along with a season-high 20 rebounds. In 10 career games against the Bucks, the third-year center out of Connecticut is averaging 15.1 points and 13.1 rebounds.
3 key stats: Milwaukee's bench outscored Detroit's bench, 69-13. The Bucks' five available reserves scored all 30 of their fourth-quarter points, as coach Jason Kidd stuck with the second unit for the entire final quarter. The 69 bench points scored by the Bucks on Friday are the third-most scored in an NBA game this season -- Denver had 70 bench points on Nov. 5 and Phoenix had 71 bench points on Nov. 15.
Although their only available true center (Larry Sanders) played just 11 minutes on Friday, the Bucks out-rebounded the Pistons, 44-39. Ilyasova served as the reserve center, while Giannis Antetokounmpo also saw time at the five. Jared Dudley was the power forward of the second unit, while Khris Middleton was the small forward with Jerryd Bayless and Kendall Marshall in the backcourt. The Bucks were able to out-rebound a top-10 rebounding team thanks to nine rebounds from Antetokounmpo, eight from Ilyasova and six from Dudley.
With Friday's win over Detroit, Milwaukee clinched its first winning month since January of 2013. The Bucks will go for their first 10-win month since March of 2012 on Saturday against Houston.
Said: "We have a lot of good players. We may not have one superstar or two superstars, but we have a lot of guys that can get it done. It really just depends on the night and who is going to perform." -- Marshall
"We knew we were down two guys. Everybody stepped up. We had to play with a small lineup, and everybody did a hell of a job offensively, but especially defensively. We played against a big Detroit team that likes to crash the offensive glass. I think we did a really good job boxing out and not letting them get second-chance opportunities. Offensively we shared the ball and used our advantage of spreading the floor against them." -- Ilyasova
"It was a great team effort. Shorthanded or however you want to look at it, we had 10 guys available to go tonight. All 10 pitched in to help us find a way to win on the road." -- Kidd
Seen: Both of Milwaukee's reserve centers were unavailable Friday. Henson missed his second consecutive game with a sprained right foot, while Pachulia is currently back home in the Republic of Georgia following the death of his grandmother. The Bucks were also without reserve guard Nate Wolters due to the flu.
With just 10 players available, Marshall appeared in just his fifth game of the season. He had nine points and eight assists in 24 minutes, hitting a pair of critical 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.
Dudley scored in double figures for the first time in a Bucks uniform, finishing with 16 points on 6 of 8 shooting. The veteran hit 4 of his 6 attempts from beyond the arc.
Next: The Bucks wrap up their stretch of four games in five nights with a home game against the Houston Rockets on Saturday night. Tipoff is at 8 p.m. CT due to Sesame Street Live taking place at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
Houston fell to 12-4 with a 102-85 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday. Rockets point guards Isaiah Canaan (sprained left ankle) and Patrick Beverley (strained left hamstring) aren't making the trip to Milwaukee, while Dwight Howard (right knee straine) is listed as doubtful for Saturday. Forward Terrence Jones (left leg inflammation) also won't play against the Bucks.
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