Milwaukee needs a win on its homecourt

After the teams split a pair of games at The Palace of Auburn Hills, Chauncey Billups scored 21 points and Richard Hamilton added 17 as the third-seeded Pistons used a big third-quarter rally to defeat the Bucks, 95-85, in Game 3 on Saturday at the Bradley Center.

Ben Wallace finished with 13 points, 21 rebounds and three blocked shots for the Pistons, who avenged a home loss in Game 2 and took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

All-Star guard Michael Redd and forward Desmond Mason each scored 19 points to pace the Bucks, who saw a 12-point lead in the first half evaporate into a 10- point loss in Game 3.

Detroit has lost five straight Game 4s in the postseason, while the Bucks are 3-2 in their last five Game 4s.

The sixth-seeded Bucks have lost two straight and four of their last six playoff games in front of their home crowd.

The Pistons are 8-2 all-time versus the Bucks in the postseason, including 4-1 on the road. This is the third time the teams have met in the postseason, as the Pistons won each series. Detroit won the final two games of a best-of- three first-round series in 1976 and swept a best-of-seven conference semifinal in 1989.

The Bucks were eliminated in six games by the New Jersey Nets in the first round of last year’s playoffs, while Detroit has not been dismissed in the opening round since 2000 when it was swept by the Miami Heat, 3-0.

Game 5 is scheduled for Thursday at The Palace.