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MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Michael Redd is teaching the Milwaukee Bucks
how to win in the playoffs, and it's a formula the Detroit Pistons
know well -- poise, persistence and prolific shooting. Redd scored 40 points and T.J. Ford had a career-high 15 assists
to lead the Bucks to their first home playoff victory over the
Pistons in 30 years, 124-104 on Saturday night. The Bucks shot 60 percent from the field and set a season high
for points by an opponent against the Pistons, who lead the Eastern
Conference series 2-1. "Phase one is done," Redd said. "We stayed poised and they
met their match." Game 4 is Monday night in Milwaukee, and the young Bucks needed
a win after being blown out in the first two games in Detroit. "Nobody can ever say now that this Bucks team hasn't won a
playoff game in a while," rookie Andrew Bogut said. "It's just
great to get your first win." Redd set a playoff career high for points, three off his overall
career high, and Ford finally found his rhythm at the point, adding
seven points and seven rebounds. Mo Williams scored 20 points,
Jamaal Magloire had 12 and Bobby Simmons and Toni Kukoc 10 each for
the Bucks. Chauncey Billups led six players in double figures for Detroit
with 26 points, while Rasheed Wallace added 18. But Detroit's frustration boiled over as Milwaukee finally
accomplished its goals coming into the series by moving the ball,
forcing the Pistons to run and using its deep bench to bury the
NBA's best team in the regular season. "We kind of went away from what we did in the first two
games," Pistons forward Tayshaun Prince said. "Why? I don't
know." The Bucks' third quarter made the fourth a formality outside of
an elbow by Richard Hamilton to Redd's face that resulted in a
flagrant foul. Detroit, which shot 49 percent, trailed by as many 26 and
Pistons coach Flip Saunders emptied his bench with 3:13 to play. "You can't play out of character," Saunders said. "You have
to exert your will on how you want to play. We took sometimes the
path of least resistance." Milwaukee shot a blistering 66 percent in the third quarter.
Most of that was Ford finding Redd, who finished 14-of-21 from the
field and 4-of-5 from 3-point range. "Good offense leads to good defense," Redd said. "Getting an
open shot is better than shooting a poor shot and trying to get
back on defense." Redd scored 15 points in the third quarter and eight in just
over a minute, first hitting a 3 off a pass from Ford, who found
the sharpshooter again on a give-and-go during a fast break on the
ensuing possession. "That's what he does best ... breaking the defense down and
getting in those little cracks," Redd said of Ford. Hamilton also got a technical foul for arguing during the spurt,
and Redd made it 86-62 on the ensuing free throws and a jumper off
a pass by Ford, one of 34 assists by the Bucks after having 30
total in the first two games. "Playing against the best team in the NBA, going against some
of the best players, I want to do well," Ford said. "Tonight, I
showcased it and I just have got to try, no, I've got to do it
again." While one Wallace showed up for the Pistons, the other one --
fellow All-Star Ben Wallace -- picked up two fouls early in the
first and was ineffective with one point, one blocked shot and five
rebounds in 29 minutes. Game notes
Kukoc, who missed the first two games of the series with
back spasms that forced him to spend a night in the hospital,
played 21 minutes. ... Saunders said that Hamilton, who played 31
minutes and had 10 points coming off tweaking his ankle, would not
be out there if he was injured. "When a guy steps on the floor,
he's going to be 100 percent," Saunders said. "I'm not changing
anything I do with my own players." ... The Bucks' only home
victory against Detroit in the playoffs was in 1976, when Milwaukee
won the first game of the series, then lost the last two. The Bucks
didn't win a home game in 1989 or 2004 series against the Pistons.
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