Down two starters, the Bucks still cruise to a 146-114 win over the last-place Pistons

Before the start of Saturday's game against the Detroit Pistons, a Milwaukee Bucks huddle included the edict to not "play with your food," and despite some mild hiccups, Milwaukee followed that process to a T.

The Bucks (18-7) took a 23-point lead after the first quarter, led by as many as 34 points and coasted to a 146-114 victory at Fiserv Forum, sending the last-place Detroit Pistons (2-24) to a 23rd consecutive loss. Any concern about a "trap game" never surfaced Saturday.

Box score: Bucks 146, Pistons 114

"I don't like to say it, but (sometimes in games like this), you kind of play down to the level of who you're playing and kind of take your foot off the gas and relax," said Bucks forward Bobby Portis, whose 31 points were the most he's scored in a Milwaukee uniform. "You let a team hang around the whole game, and then the fourth quarter it's a close game. I like how we started from the jump and took control of the game, especially with having a game the next day against the Rockets; they're playing great basketball."

Damian Lillard scored 33 points through three quarters on 11 of 22 shooting (6 of 14 from deep), and Giannis Antetokounmpo added 22 with eight rebounds in his first game since setting the franchise single-game record with 64 points against Indiana. Neither star player appeared in the fourth quarter with the game well in hand.

It was exactly what the team wanted with Houston on the docket for a 6 p.m. tip Sunday in the fourth game of a six-game homestand.

Portis put on quite a show off the bench. He hit 11 of 18 shots, added 12 rebounds for his third double-double of the year, and he left the game in the fourth quarter to the familiar chants of "Bob-by." His exit was a little different in Milwaukee's last game Wednesday, when he was ejected from an emotional win over Indiana.

"I think it's big for us in this homestand to find a rhythm, find ourselves, obviously on both sides of the ball and try to get some wins, try to win as many as we can at home before we go back on the road," Portis said. "I think it's critical for us to play our good basketball here, protect our home court like we've been doing."

His point total was the most he's scored in a Bucks uniform, eclipsing the 30 he'd scored twice in 2022.

The Bucks have won 12 straight games at Fiserv Forum and moved to 13-1 in the building this season.

Injury replacements MarJon Beauchamp and Andre Jackson Jr. have breakout performances

MarJon Beauchamp, making his first start of the year in place of sidelined Malik Beasley (illness), scored the first seven points of the game and has 11 overall, including an audacious two-handed jam.

Andre Jackson Jr., starting in place of Khris Middleton (knee injury management) registered career highs in minutes (26), field goals (four), points (10) and rebounds (eight).

"The first five minutes are critical, I thought we set the tone and MarJon was a big part of that," Bucks coach Adrian Griffin said.

"I thought our entire team had the right approach coming into this game. You can never judge a team on their record. I think they've got a lot of talent on their team. I love our approach of coming in and taking care of business early."

Jackson said there was added comfort in having Beauchamp joining him in the starting lineup.

"I didn't feel I was the only young guy out there," Jackson said. "Having somebody else in a similar situation as you makes you feel a little more confident, a little better. I played well, brought some good energy, and the ball finds energy. I was out there just trying to make some plays on the defensive end and guys reciprocated and got me some open shots, some open looks."

Jackson hit 2 of 5 from three-point range. For a player who joined the Bucks with a reputation of providing very little scoring firepower, he's hit 8 of 17 from three-point range in his rookie season.

"I believe in myself and my coaches believe in me and so do my teammates, and that gives me the confidence to go out there and do it. and when people tell you that you can't do it, it makes you want to go out there and do it a little bit more. That's how life works."

"Dre's a winner," Griffin said. "He makes his teammates better. He's a guy that's out there that doesn't care about scoring the ball. It's amazing how it works when you don't care about your shots and the ball still finds you. I'll take that every game."

Khris Middleton, Malik Beasley didn't play but could be available Sunday against the Rockets

Griffin said before Saturday's game that he expected both Middleton and Beasley to be available Sunday.

Middleton's absence wasn't unusual on the front end of a back-to-back, part of the team's strategy for managing his recovery from his knee injury. Beasley was missing with a non-COVID illness and thus didn't start a Bucks game for the first time this year.

Chris Livingston was also recalled from the Oshkosh Herd and appeared in his fourth game of the season, scoring a late basket. Two-way player Lindell Wigginton scored his first six points of the season.

Pistons put up a small fight, but Milwaukee was never truly threatened

The Bucks made 16 of their first 26 shots to seize control and led by 30 in the first half. The Pistons hovered by shooting better than 50% through the middle part of the game, cutting the lead to 18 points early in the third, but Detroit's tailed off and finished the game at 44.8%.

The Pistons' losing skid includes two games against the Bucks, this one and a 120-118 loss Nov. 18 at Fiserv Forum.

In that earlier game, Antetokounmpo was controversially ejected with two technical fouls, the second after briefly celebrating a ferocious dunk. The Bucks fell behind after the ejection in the third quarter, but Lillard scored 18 points in the fourth to help Milwaukee prevail.

Is Detroit's 23-game losing streak an NBA record?

The Pistons are closing in on the longest losing streak in NBA history, but the record is 26 straight losses by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2010-11 and the Philadelphia 76ers in 2013-14. Both teams finished their seasons 19-63.

With the loss to the Bucks, Detroit tied three other teams for the third-longest losing streak in NBA history with 23.

The San Antonio Spurs surprised the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, snapping San Antonio's 18-game losing streak. The Spurs will be at Fiserv Forum on Tuesday.

"I thought our leaders were leaders tonight," Griffin said. "There was no messing around. Defensively I feel like we're starting to put it together ... (the) ball pressure is increasing, everyone is getting to know their assignment. I just love the vibe and love our togetherness right now."

More: These are the 10 NBA players who have scored more in a single game than Giannis Antetokounmpo just did

Pat Connaughton back in action after missing six games

Pat Connaughton played against the Pistons after missing the previous six games with a sprained ankle. He registered 12 minutes and made both of his shots (including a three-pointer) to finish with six points and four rebounds.

Connaughton had last played Nov. 28 against Miami. Connaughton has scored 5.8 points per game this year but has been a valuable off-the-bench spark with a 34% mark from three-point range. He checked in late in the first quarter and scored his first basket early in the second.

Griffin said he would see how Connaughton felt before determining if he would play again Sunday.

Milwaukee Bucks numbers to know after the win over Detroit

8 Straight games of shooting 60% or better for Antetokounmpo, setting a franchise record. John Henson (2013-14), Ervin Johnson (1999) and Jim Fox (1975) have also done it over seven straight games.

14 Straight games Antetokounmpo has played in, beginning Nov. 17 at Charlotte. The 29-year-old hasn't played in more than 13 straight games in a season since appearing in 31 in a row in 2020-21 season (Jan. 11-March 20, 2021)

3,500 Career-assists milestone that Antetokounmpo reached with his six in the game against Detroit. Already the Bucks’ all-time leader in that category, he's just the 170^th player to reach that total and one of 19 active players to do so.

12 straight the Bucks have won at Fiserv Forum, with the last loss coming at the hands of Atlanta on Oct. 29. Milwaukee is 13-1 in the building overall this season. The loss to Indiana in Las Vegas technically counts as a home loss, giving the Bucks an official home record of 13-2.

14 Rebounds needed by Antetokounmpo to become the franchise's all-time leader. His 7,148 trail only Abdul-Jabbar's 7,161. Antetokounmpo is already the Bucks' all-time leader in points, assists, blocks, games played and triple-doubles.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee Bucks rout Detroit Pistons 146-114 at Fiserv Forum