Reserve fuel: Pistons shoot for a victory over Bucks

When the Detroit Pistons need a lift, head coach Lawrence Frank turns to his reserves.

The Pistons look for another outstanding contribution from their bench on Sunday evening when they host the Milwaukee Bucks.

Detroit has won three of four since a six-game slide and has seen its bench come up big over the past few games. The reserves contributed 85 points in Wednesday's double-overtime loss to the Atlanta Hawks, then notched 64 in a 109-99 victory over the Miami Heat on Friday.

Trailing by 15 following the first quarter, the Pistons' bench scored 36 of the club's 41 points in the second frame as the squad stormed in front.

All four Detroit reserves reached double figures in scoring, led by Will Bynum's team-high 25 points and 10 assists. Charlie Villanueva added 18 points and six boards off the bench, while Austin Daye had 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting.

"You've got a lot of shooting on the floor and we really were just trying to use the pick-and-roll to put two on the ball and then move it and then try to exploit different rotations," said Pistons head coach Lawrence Frank of the balanced scoring.

Detroit's bench has scored 60-plus points in consecutive games for the first time in franchise history and helped the club grab a victory in the opener of a five-game homestand.

The Bucks are also coming off a victory over the Heat, recording a 104-85 triumph over the defending champions on Saturday. Brandon Jennings had a team- high 25 points to go along with seven assists and four steals.

Milwaukee used a late surge in the third quarter to cut its deficit to two heading into the final frame before outscoring Miami 35-15 over the final 12 minutes. The Bucks shot 12-of-23 from the floor and hit four of their six 3- point attempts in the frame.

"We once again showed some good resolve out there and came back and got it," Milwaukee coach Scott Skiles said of his team closing out the game.

Luc Mbah a Moute notched 19 points to go with seven rebounds, while Mike Dunleavy added 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists as the Bucks won for the eighth time in their last 11 games.

The Bucks won three of their four encounters with the Pistons a season ago, splitting a pair of games in Detroit. They have lost eight of their past 11 in Motown.