At many points, things looked bleak for the Milwaukee Bucks in their outing with the Detroit Pistons.
Trailing by as many as 18 points, it looked like the Bucks' struggles were bound to continue and send the team spiraling further. However, for the first time in a long time, Milwaukee finally looked like a unit with cohesion, coming together to rally and claw their way back into this game. In their first overtime game of the year, the Bucks came back and got a much-needed win.
Let us now highlight two key moments that fueled Milwaukee's comeback.
A key ejection
From the opening tip, Giannis Antetokounmpo was a man on a mission. At the 3:02 mark in the third quarter, the Greek Freak had 34 points and went up for 36 before he was yanked to the ground by his jersey by Isaiah Stewart, suffering a hard fall. Stewart was ejected, and not only did that get the crowd at Fiserv Forum rocking, but it gave the Milwaukee Bucks, trailing 79-71 at that point, some fuel.
After that, the Bucks ended the third quarter on a 14-5 run to claim the lead. Following the ejection, Milwaukee outscored Detroit 56-41 for the rest of the game. Giannis Antetokounmpo accounted for 25 of those points, continuing to dominate by not only attacking the hoop but also knocking down his mid-range jumper with consistency.
Two missed free throws
With just one second left and the game knotted at 111 in regulation, an egregious foul was called on Giannis Antetokounmpo as Ron Holland II went up for a game-winning layup. The Bucks were unable to challenge the call, otherwise they certainly would have, as it looked like Giannis made a clean play. However, the Pistons rookie was instead given a chance to win the game with free throws.
The 19-year-old missed the first one, and a sense of hope rejuvenated the Fiserv Forum crowd. When he missed the second one and the buzzer sounded, the crowd erupted. Fittingly, rather than losing at the hands of a horrendous call, the Milwaukee Bucks would be given five more minutes to secure the win, and they did just that.
After a dominant overtime, the Milwaukee Bucks secured their gutsiest win of the year to this point, 127-120. Short-handed beyond belief, Giannis Antetokounmpo stepped up with 59 points, but the Bucks also got help from Brook Lopez, who finished with 29 points and five blocks, and Gary Trent Jr. finally came to life with 11 points and two steals off the bench.
For the first time this season, the Milwaukee Bucks have won back-to-back games. At 4-8, there's still plenty of ground to make up, and they are currently just 1.5 games out of fourth place and 2.5 out of third in the Eastern Conference. Hopefully this comeback win can serve as a turning point and give them a jolt moving forward.
With two days off before their next game, the Bucks will now focus on getting healthy, as they were without Damian Lillard, Khris Middleton, Bobby Portis and rising guard Ryan Rollins against Detroit.
Stay tuned for more Milwaukee Bucks analysis.