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Villanueva comes through in clutch as Pistons beat Bucks

Feb 10, 2013 - 5:33 AM Milwaukee, WI (Sports Network) - Charlie Villanueva nailed a 3-pointer with 9.7 seconds remaining to lift the Detroit Pistons over the Milwaukee Bucks, 105-100, on Saturday.

Jose Calderon, playing in his third game since being acquired from the Raptors, netted 23 points on 10-of-13 shooting for the Pistons, who won their second straight following a victory Friday which snapped San Antonio's 11-game winning streak. Rodney Stuckey donated 19 points, while Villanueva finished with 18 -- on 4-of-7 from behind the arc -- and 13 rebounds in the victory.

"It feels great," Villanueva said. "I don't even know who passed me the ball, but once it hit my hands I knew it was in. It was a big game, especially here in Milwaukee, where I called it home once."

Brandon Jennings scored a game-high 26 points and dished out seven helpers for the Bucks, who had a chance to tie the game following Villanueva's trey. Jennings got the ball back and drove across halfcourt, but misfired from well beyond the three-point arc, although the clock still showed three seconds, and the Bucks were forced to foul Stuckey, who made two free throws to provide the final points.

Ersan Ilyasova and Samuel Dalembert each recorded double-doubles with 15 points and 10 rebounds and 14 points and 12 rebounds, respectively, in the Bucks' third straight defeat.

With the game tied under one minute to play, Jennings drove to the right wing and nailed a stepback jumper over Stuckey but Calderon wasted no time and quickly blew past his defender for an easy lay-in with 41 seconds remaining, tying things at 100-100.

There were six lead changes and seven ties alone in the final quarter which saw both teams struggle shooting. The Bucks shot 5-of-21, compared to Detroit which made 8-of-18 shots.

Detroit led 33-22 after one quarter of play, while Calderon and Greg Monroe each had 11 and 10 points, respectively, on a combined 9-of-13 shooting.

Detroit held onto its edge for most of the second until Dalembert's tip-in tied things at 51-51 with 1 1/2 minutes before the break. Kyle Singler's jumper with 25 seconds remaining proved to be the difference-maker, as the visitors led, 57-56 at halftime.

The Bucks returned the favor in the third quarter, especially inside the paint, where they outscored the Pistons 12-4 in the period before taking an 82-81 advantage into the final stanza.

"Charlie was huge," Detroit coach Lawrence Frank said. "Great job on the glass, and obviously the huge rebound at the end after we got the stop. But it's the ability to play both ends as he's done the last two games, because we all know what he can do. Offensively, he's a very, very skilled guy. As long as we keep moving the ball, the ball will find the open man."

Game Notes

Bucks center Larry Sanders, who leads the NBA in blocked shots with 3.16 per game, missed the action due to a back injury ... Milwaukee is 13-11 at home this season ... Detroit is 6-18 away from home ... Detroit turned the ball over 20 times resulting in 23 points for the Bucks ... Milwaukee shot 39.5 percent from the floor (34-of-86) ... Monroe registered his 23rd double-double of the season with 14 points and 13 boards.