1971 – Detroit Pistons at Cobo Arena
By the time, the Bucks got to take their place on the NBA’s Christmas Day schedule for a second time in 1971, they had made a larger leap forward as a franchise in those three years than they arguably have ever since.
The Bucks took pride of place on the December 25 slate after securing the franchise’s sole championship success by sweeping the Baltimore Bullets at the end of the previous season.
As a result, the star-studded Bucks led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bob Dandridge and Oscar Robertson, with a record of 30-5 at that point, would have been considered as heavy favorites to pick up a win over a largely mediocre Pistons team.
It wasn’t to play out that way, though, Detroit’s Bob Lanier (a future Bucks legend) and Jimmy Walker had other ideas.
Walker scored 32 points, while Lanier went toe-to-toe with Abdul-Jabbar for 35 points and 21 rebounds. Kareem responded with 38 points, 18 rebounds and eight assists of his own, but that wasn’t enough to prevent the Pistons from prevailing with a narrow 120-118 win.