Damian Lillard keys rally for Bucks after Giannis is ejected in victory over Pistons

Emotions were flying around Fiserv Forum on Wednesday night.

There were heated exchanges, technical fouls and boos from the stands.

And then finally exaltation.

After Giannis Antetokounmpo was ejected in the third quarter, the Milwaukee Bucks had to scrap for a 120-118 victory over the Detroit Pistons that will be remembered for its strangeness.

The Bucks improved to 5-2 after their third straight win, and the Pistons fell to 2-7. It's the first game of a back-to-back, as the Bucks head to Indianapolis on Thursday to play the Indiana Pacers.

"Another huge night as far as finding a way to win," Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin said. "I thought it was a gutsy victory. A lot of guys stepped up."

A lot of whistles from referees

The Bucks took a 24-23 first quarter lead following a slow start for both teams, as the Bucks were 2-for-10 from behind the three-point line and the Pistons missed all seven of their three-point attempts.

Bobby Portis added some juice for the Bucks in the second quarter with a 13-point outburst to help Milwaukee take a 62-52 lead into the break.

With Portis hitting turnaround jumpers, the fan favorite got the crowd into an early frenzy.

"Let him go," Griffin said. "His energy is contagious. It's not rocket science. You don't take out a heater and he had it going. He had the hot hand and you just keep feeding him.

"Not just on the offensive end. He's competing on the defensive end. He's up pressuring the ball. I just love his energy. His rebounding. He was huge for us."

Emotions became heightened in the second quarter. Jae Crowder and Isaiah Stewart got double technical fouls for jawing at each other. Antetokounmpo picked up his first technical for arguing with officials, and Brook Lopez also got one after voicing his displeasure from the bench after receiving his third personal foul.

Bucks fall behind after Giannis Antetokounmpo is ejected

All those dustups were just a prelude to the fireworks that happened in the third quarter.

Antetokounmpo was ejected for a second technical foul for taunting after a dunk with nine minutes remaining. The crowd couldn't believe he was punished for a brief stare-down of Stewart, raining boos down on the refereeing crew. Antetokounmpo was in disbelief as well, taking his time leaving the court and even briefly sitting in a courtside chair.

Milwaukee had a 73-60 lead when Antetokounmpo exited. The Pistons grabbed an 88-87 lead after a three-pointer by Marcus Sasser and then took a 95-90 advantage into the fourth quarter.

Dame Time in the fourth quarter

Damian Lillard has been working to find his groove with the Bucks. After Antetokounmpo's ejection and with Khris Middleton in street clothes, this was an obvious time for Lillard to take the reins.

He certainly did.

Lillard had 18 points in the fourth quarter, hitting six shots and going 5 for 6 on free throws. He finished with 34 points on 10-for-25 shooting.

"We felt there was a lot of questionable calls," Lopez said. "You got to fight through that. The way Giannis got kicked out, we obviously don't think that was great or correct.

"But whatever. We turned it into a positive. It sucked not to have him out there. But it was a great opportunity for us to play pretty much solely with Dame. Get him more used to us, get used to him and all other guys. CP (Cameron Payne) was out there. (MarJon) Beauchamp. Everyone had great minutes and stepped up."

The Pistons took a 109-99 lead with just over seven minutes left, but Lillard sparked the rally. His layup with just over two minutes remaining brought the Bucks within 113-112, ramping up the anticipation among the fans for the clutch "Dame Time" that the guard is known for.

Lillard's short jumper then gave Milwaukee the lead at 116-115 with 1:12 remaining. After the Bucks' defense got a stop, Lopez knocked down a three-pointer with 42.2 seconds remaining that brought the crowd to an ecstatic roar.

"It was an opportunity for us to fold," Lillard said. "For us to say it wasn't our night. We're not making shots. They making tough shots. They gave Giannis a bad tech.

"We could have made a lot of excuses for ourselves and let this one get away. But on the bench the energy was positive. We communicated with each other like a real unit. I think for it to be this early in the season and for it to be so new, we came together really well."

With all the twists and turns, Lillard's steady presence stabilized the Bucks.

"Dame has done this before, right?" Griffin said. "He's experienced. He's just cool and calm under pressure.

"It was an emotional game. As a coach, I think the thing that you want to see is just how fast can you move on and rebound and regain your poise.

"So that's just one thing to learn from and continue to work on, sometimes things aren't going to go your way. Sometimes you're not going to get the foul calls you want. You can voice your opinion, then you got to move on. We got a game to play and a game to win."

Khris Middleton out with injury management

For the second time this season, the Bucks held Middleton out of the first game of a back-to-back with right knee injury management. He also missed the Oct. 29 game against Atlanta before returning Oct. 30 against Miami. Middleton finally crossed the 20-minute threshold against New York on Nov. 3.

Middleton's planned absence against the Pistons didn't require prior league approval, even though Middleton is considered a "star player" under the league's new player participation policy. The Bucks and Pistons game isn't a nationally televised broadcast and the Bucks' other two stars, Antetokounmpo and Lillard, are playing.

Crowder started in place of Middleton during the preseason and also drew the starting nod against Atlanta on Oct. 29. Interestingly, that was his worst offensive showing of the season (1-for-4 from the floor overall, 0-for-3 from behind the three-point line). In six games, the 33-year-old Marquette University alumnus is shooting 52% from behind the three-point line in about 26 minutes per game.

5 numbers

4 Blocks in the first quarter for the Bucks, two by Brook Lopez and two by Giannis Antetokounmpo

5 Technical fouls called on the Bucks. Giannis Antetokounmpo was hit with two and ejected in the third quarter. Crowder, Lopez and Thanasis Antetokounmpo also received technical at various points.

6 Players who were out with injury for the Pistons.

13 Points scored by Bobby Portis in a 3-minute stretch of the second quarter that gave the Bucks a 42-27 lead.

18-1 Bucks record against the Pistons in the regular season since 2018-19 season.

Did you notice?

With Middleton out, Bucks rookie Andre Jackson got some second-quarter minutes. He had previously only played in two games. Jackson showed activity by guarding Pistons guards as they brought the ball up the court. But he also picked up three fouls in four minutes and did not play in the second half.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Damian Lillard leads rally for Bucks after Giannis ejected in win