Milwaukee Bucks swingman Jae Crowder played in just his second game back from a lengthy injury spell on Saturday against the Detroit Pistons. The 33-year-old recently returned from a two-month layoff due to an adductor injury, which is considered a massive development for the Bucks.
Crowder wasn’t able to do much against Detroit, though, finishing with just two points, two rebounds, and a steal in 14 minutes off the bench. More importantly, however, Crowder was able to help his team escape with a 141-135 victory against the Pistons.
Jae Crowder Speaks Out on Pistons’ Hot Night Vs. Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks nearly suffered one of the biggest shock defeats of the season, though. A shorthanded Pistons almost pulled off a massive upset, and this was thanks in large part to their red-hot shooting from beyond the arc.
Detroit went 21-of-37 from distance for 56.8 percent shooting. Milwaukee’s lack of coverage from rainbow territory nearly cost them dearly.
“I just think we were overhelping on penetration,” Crowder said, via Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “They have good guys who can get in the paint and sometimes we had to try to help, try to stay in our principles, but I think they did a good job of just knocking down shots. They got into a rhythm. They shot 50% from three? That’s crazy. I think we were just trying to stop penetration a little bit and we had to kind of balance later on in the game.”
To be fair, the Pistons also deserve a lot of credit for their efficient performance from beyond the arc. Alec Burks led the way with seven triples off the bench, with Mike Muscala and Bojan Bogdanovic chipping in with four and three triples, respectively.
Crowder and the Bucks know where they will have to improve when they take on the Pistons again on Monday in a rematch at the Little Caesars Arena.
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