MILWAUKEE — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 24 points and 17 rebounds in just 24 minutes Sunday night, and the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks showed they were serious about making a playoff run with a 121-86 rout of the Detroit Pistons in Game 1.

Antetokounmpo, the MVP candidate, ran and dunked all over the Pistons, who only really caught him when center Andre Drummond shoved him to the ground with both hands late in the third quarter after Antetokounmpo grabbed an offensive rebound with Detroit trailing by 41 points.

Drummond was given a flagrant 2 foul and ejected. He threw a kiss to the Fiserv Forum crowd as he was escorted off the court.

Antetokounmpo struggled at the foul line, making only 5 of 12 attempts, but was 9 of 17 from the field and 1 of 5 from 3-point range.

Seven Bucks scored in double figures. Eric Bledsoe had 15 points, and Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton each added 14. Reserve George Hill scored 16 points.

Reserve Luke Kennard paced the Pistons with 21 points, and Drummond had 12 points and 12 rebounds. Reggie Jackson also had 12 points. Detroit played without forward Blake Griffin, who sat out with a left knee injury.

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Detroit shot 38 percent from the field, converting 35 of 92 attempts.

The Bucks rolled to a 27-point lead in the first half, taking a 70-43 margin at halftime. Antetokounmpo had 14 points and 10 rebounds, Lopez added 14 points and Hill contributed 13.

Detroit shot 34 percent in the half (18 of 53) and made just 3 of 14 3-point attempts.

Pistons Coach Dwane Casey said his team made a big step forward in qualifying for the playoffs but vowed to compete against the heavily favored Bucks.

“We’re not in the class of where Milwaukee is with their program right now,” Casey said. “They were not two or three years ago.

“I remember coming here a couple years ago (with Toronto) and playing against them. They were getting started, building what they’ve got now. Their patience has paid off. It’s a great experience for us to come in and play against a great team like Milwaukee.”

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TRAIL BLAZERS 104, THUNDER 99: Damian Lillard scored 30 points and third-seeded Portland opened its playoff series against No. 6 Oklahoma City with a home victory.

Enes Kanter added 20 points and a career playoff-high 18 rebounds for the Blazers, who are making their sixth straight postseason appearance. CJ McCollum added 24 points.

Russell Westbrook had 24 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds for his ninth career postseason triple-double. Paul George, who was a game-time decision because of a sore shoulder, added 26 points and 10 rebounds after a slow start.

Portland led by as many as 19 points in the first half, but the Thunder pulled within 80-77 early in the fourth quarter. Oklahoma City couldn’t get closer and Lillard hit a 30-footer to extend the Blazers’ lead to 89-81 with 6:38 left.


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