Bucks News: Pistons Forward Ejected After Hard Fouling Giannis Antetokounmpo

The two-time league MVP is having himself a night.

Nov 13, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) looks to pass the ball against Detroit Pistons forward Isaiah Stewart (28) during the first quarter at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images / Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

Detroit Pistons big man Isaiah Stewart has been eliminated from his team's ongoing matchup against Central Division rival the Milwaukee Bucks, after a violent hack of All-NBA Bucks power forward Giannis Antetokoumpo in the contest's third quarter.

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The 2-8 Bucks, once trailing the 5-7 Pistons by as many as 18 points, have stormed all the way back, and currently pace Detroit, 96-93, with seven minutes remaining in regulation.

The two-time league MVP is having himself a night. Antetokounmpo has 41 points on 14-of-24 shooting from the floor and 13-of-14 shooting from the foul line, nine rebounds, four assists, two steals, and two blocks — and plenty of time left to get to a 50-point double-double.

Milwaukee has looked a horse of a different color entirely with All-Star starting point guard Damian Lillard missing his second straight game due to continuing concussion symptoms. Lillard's backup, two-way guard Ryan Rollins, suffered an injury during his first game replacing Lillard in the first five on Tuesday, and was also shelved. But head coach Doc Rivers continued to emphasize defense on Wednesday in his backcourt. After demoting ex-starting shooting guard Gary Trent Jr. to the bench a few games ago in favor of second-year swingman Andre Jackson Jr., Rivers has now elevated veteran Delon Wright, still a very good point-of-attack defender with a killer 3-point shot (although he has yet to make anything on Wednesday night so far), to replace Rollins.

Reserve power forward/center Stewart finishes the bout with nine points on 4-of-6 shooting (1-of-1 from long range), three rebounds and a block across 14:20, while backin gup starting center Jalen Duren and starting power forward Tobias Harris.

A victory Wednesday would represent a massive positive step forward for the Bucks, who have been absolutely reeling to start the season. The club had been mostly healthy outside of the continued long-term absence of former All-Star starting small forward Khris Middleton, but as players find themselves overextended the backcourt injuries have begun to pile up.

The biggest disappointment of the season so far has been Trent, who's looked just awful thus far. Across his nine healthy games this year, the 6-foot-5 former Duke Blue Devil is averaging 6.4 points on a brutal .286/.225/.929 slash line, 1.3 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 0.7 steals in 24.5 minutes a night. Considering how bad he's looked defensively, the fact that he has given the Bucks pretty much nothing on offense has been less than ideal.

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