It’s only the preseason, but tonight Milwaukee Bucks basketball returned with a 120-87 loss to the Detroit Pistons. You weren’t expecting all of Milwaukee’s firepower to be featured, but Damian Lillard led a starting five alongside Gary Trent Jr., Pat Connaughton, Taurean Prince, and Brook Lopez.

Bobby Portis led the Bucks with sixteen while Jaden Ivey was the Pistons’ high man with 22.

All offseason long, Lillard has discussed how he feels right going into this year compared to his inaugural campaign with the Bucks. In the first quarter, he immediately became the leading force of Milwaukee’s offense.

Brook Lopez also quickly hit from downtown, rattling home a pair of his own threes. Dame connected on another triple before the quarter ended, bringing his tally to four (4/5) and fourteen points in the opening frame. The Bucks carried a 39-28 lead into the second quarter.

Unfortunately, the last thing that you want to see in a preseason game occurred for the Bucks in the second quarter. As Jalen Duren went for a screen, Gary Trent Jr. banged his elbow into him, resulting in him being taken to the Bucks locker room.

That immediately became Milwaukee’s number one concern, as the team quickly announced he wouldn’t return with a left elbow hyperextension. As for the remainder of the quarter, Detroit stormed back to take a 60-58 halftime lead thanks to 17 first-half points from Ivey.

AJ Johnson, the Bucks’ first-round draft pick, checked in to start the second half for the team. He’d score just a single basket, going 1/6 from the floor.

At the end of three quarters, Detroit had four players in double figures: Cade Cunningham with 13 points, Ivey with 22 points, Ron Holland II with 10 points, and Malik Beasley with 11 points. They took a 91-79 advantage into the fourth.

A lineup of Ryan Rollins, AJ Green, Stanley Umude, Chris Livingston, and Tyler Smith began the fourth quarter for the Bucks. Boy, was it not pretty, but it’s preseason so whatever.

The Pistons were able to run up their lead to 30 behind a 17-0 run as Doc Rivers emptied his bench even further. It wasn’t until the 3:49 mark that Milwaukee put points back on the board.

Johnson, Andre Jackson Jr., and Exhibit 10 signees Liam Robbins and James Akinjo made appearances for Milwaukee in the fourth, in addition to the five players already listed. Detroit, who were still starting important role players like Paul Reed, Marcus Sasser, and Isaiah Stewart, completely outclassed them.

As would be expected, the visitors were outscored 29-8 in the last quarter, effectively ending the game, due to the disparity between the veteran NBA players of the Pistons and the youthful players of the Bucks. It’s the preseason once more.