Pistons play with fire one too many times in loss to Bucks

The Pistons trailed the Miami Heat by 11 points in the second half. They gave up a 19 point lead to the Atlanta Hawks to allow a tie ballgame in the final four minutes. They trailed the Indiana Pacers by 11 points.

It’s been living on the edge for the Pistons and on Wednesday night they fell.

That’s not to say that there’s shame in it or that the now 10-4 Pistons suddenly suck. Just that they might not be the 63 win team that they were heading into the game. They won a bunch of coin toss games and the quarter can’t always land heads.

And this team still has a few issues to iron out. Really it’s a bit incredible that the Pistons managed to make it a game when they shot 35 percent from the field and the Bucks played pretty well. They benefited from - brace yourself - taking advantage from a nice night from beyond the arc and at the line.

Langston Galloway managed to single handedly turn it into an interesting game to open the fourth quarter. The Pistons opened it trailing by 13 points, but in the first two minutes of the quarter he offered an assist on a Tobias Harris bucket then hit two threes followed by three free throws. With a Khris Middleton make in the mix, it was a five point game.

The Pistons pushed and managed to tie, but could never get over the hump to assert control over the game. It’s just tough to overcome that kind of a deficit every night. Some nights you’re bound to fall short.

It was the starting unit that let things get that way. The offense went cold in the third quarter and let the Bucks push up their lead. Despite solid free throw shooting and Andre Drummond offensive rebounding, it’s tough to keep afloat with 4-17 shooting from the field.

But the Bucks also just looked good. Giannis Antetokounmpo was/is one of those rare players that you should just watch every time they step on the court and Middleton had one of his better games of the season so far. Combine that with the Bucks’ length making things difficult for the Pistons, it’s a tough game to win.

End of the day, it was a mix of all of the good and the bad we’ve seen in many Pistons games this season. It just feels a little worse since they weren’t able to close things out.

If it makes you feel any better, here’s a ROLL CALL: