After avoiding a letdown in Game 2, the Detroit Pistons have some history on their side in the effort to increase their first-round series lead to 3-0 as they visit the Milwaukee Bucks.
The two-time defending Eastern Conference champions have never lost a playoff series when leading 2-0, while Milwaukee has never won one after trailing 0-2. Detroit appears well on its way to making a run at its second NBA championship in three years.
"We have an agenda," Pistons forward Rasheed Wallace said. "We want the hardware back."
The Pistons proved that Wednesday as six players reached double figures en route to a 109-98 victory over the Bucks, snapping a streak of three straight Game 2 losses.
"The difference with us now is that we're going to stay aggressive throughout each series, and we're not going to get overconfident if we win Game 1s," said Chauncey Billups, who hit four 3-pointers and finished with 20 points and six assists.
Tayshaun Prince scored 22 points, Richard Hamilton added 18 and eight assists and Ben Wallace had 11 rebounds for the Pistons, who were 10-of-25 from beyond the arc.
Hamilton, who left Game 1 with a sprained left ankle, aggravated the injury Wednesday, but did return. He is listed as day-to-day and received treatment during most of practice Thursday.
The Pistons, who led by as many as 19 points midway through the third quarter, outscored Milwaukee 38-24 in the paint and had 28 fast-break points. Detroit earned a convincing 92-74 win in Game 1 by holding the Bucks to 36 percent shooting, their worst performance of the season.
These two teams last met in the postseason in the first round of the 2004 Eastern Conference playoffs. The Pistons won that series 4-1 -- including both games in Milwaukee -- and went on to win the NBA title.
The Bucks have not made a postseason appearance since that first-round exit, but coach Terry Stotts hopes his team can turn the series around at home.
"There's a home-court advantage here, and we're coming back to the Bradley Center and the Bradley Center's been a great building in the playoffs," said Stotts, whose team was 25-16 at home during the regular season. "They call it home-court advantage for a reason, so we'll go home and take advantage of it."
Bucks star Michael Redd took advantage of every opportunity he got Wednesday, shooting 10 of 18 for 29 points. His performance was a big jump for his 11-point effort in Game 1.
"We made adjustments to try to get me open in better positions," Redd said.
Redd got little help from his fellow starters, however, as T.J. Ford scored 17 points and Bobby Simmons had 10. Rookie Andrew Bogut, the Bucks' top overall draft pick in 2005, added eight points and 13 rebounds while reserve Charlie Bell had 11 points.
Toni Kukoc, who has missed both games with back spasms, is listed as day-to-day. The Bucks forward participated in Thursday's shootaround, but not in contact drills.
Game 4 will be Monday at the Bradley Center.
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