Detroit, MI
Detroit Pistons blown out again, fall to Bucks for 23rd straight loss, 146-114

MILWAUKEE — At this point in a disaster of a season, it’s about the moral victories.
There were a few positives in Saturday’s blowout than Friday’s blowout. Cade Cunningham bounced back after mustering only four points against the 76ers the night before. The Detroit Pistons shot better overall, and from 3.
And, well … they didn’t trail by 40 points at any point either.
But alas, a blowout is a blowout. The Pistons suffered their second 32-point defeat in as many nights, falling to the Milwaukee Bucks, 146-114. It was a quick defeat — the Bucks led by 23 points after the first quarter and by 30, 54-24, with 10:12 remaining in the second quarter.
NOT AT A LOSS FOR WORDS: Pistons fans fed up with bad game vs. Bucks: ‘Perfect night to fire Troy Weaver’
With three minutes to go until halftime, Thanasis Antetokounmpo — Milwaukee’s human victory cigar — checked in. There was no question what the final outcome would be. To Detroit’s credit, he got a quick hook at the 55-second mark after the margin was cut to 21.
Cunningham finished with 25 points, six assists and knocked down 10 of 17 free throws. Bojan Bogdanovic added 24 points, and Marvin Bagley III, who returned from a three-game absence due to a lower back sprain, scored 12. The Pistons remained thin at center, as Isaiah Stewart missed the game with a left shoulder sprain.
Two Milwaukee players reached the 30-point threshold — Damian Lillard (33) and Bobby Portis (31, plus 12 rebounds). Giannis Antetokounmpo added 22 points, eight rebounds and six assists. The Bucks shot 56.8% and knocked down 19 3-pointers, completely dwarfing the Pistons, who shot just 21.4% (6-for-28) on 3s.
The Pistons’ next chance to end their skid is Monday against the Hawks in Atlanta to close out their three-game road trip.
Pistons’ shooting woes continue
After shooting a season-worst 19% from 3 in Friday’s 32-point loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, Detroit went through similar woes again in Milwaukee. Wide-open shots clanked off of the rim. Bogdanovic, Alec Burks and Isaiah Livers, the primary spacers on the team, were a combined 2-for-13.
It’s tough to put a finger on why shots haven’t been falling. They’re not struggling to generate open shots. Is there a psychological element to it?
“It may be,” head coach Monty Williams acknowledged after Friday’s loss. “I’m not sure. To me, it’s like you can’t think about how many games you lost in the game. You have to do the things necessary in the game, with a clean slate in your mind, to go out there and play free basketball. But I do get the question, and that may be a question for the players. We haven’t shot the ball particularly well for a while. I keep believing that we’re due for a big game shooting the ball and defending and rebounding the ball at a higher level.”
Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him @omarisankofa.
Make “The Pistons Pulse” your go-to Detroit Pistons podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify).

Detroit, MI
Family of girl whose throat was slashed in Detroit park files $50M lawsuit

Saida Mashrah said her sleep is still filled with nightmares and she’s fearful when strangers walk past her house more than a year after police said a strange man slashed her throat while she played in a Detroit park.
“Sometimes (at school) I get scared and have to take a break with a teacher,” the soft-spoken 8-year-old said Wednesday.
Saida joined attorneys for her family during a press conference where they announced the recent filing of a $50 million civil suit against the suspect, 74-year-old Gary Lansky.
“We don’t know what types of assets … (Lansky) may have but I can assure you for every dollar that he has we want to take that away from him,” said Nabih Ayad, counsel for Saida’s family. “This person deserves to rot in hell and rot in jail.”
Authorities said that Saida and four other children were playing in Ryan Park, near the Dearborn border in east Detroit, on Oct. 8, 2024. Lansky, of Detroit, allegedly approached Saida, grabbed her head, tilted it back and slashed her throat. Saida kicked him and escaped.
While she has fully recovered from the physical injuries, Ayad said the young girl will likely always carry with her the trauma she endured that day.
“Forever she will be haunted by this, traumatized by this and is currently seeking therapy and probably will for the rest of her life,” he said.
Lansky has been charged with assault with intent to murder and assault with a dangerous weapon. Ayad said Lansky is currently in the process of being evaluated for competency to stand trial. Online records show he remains behind bars at the Wayne County Jail, held on a $2 million bond.
An attorney for Lansky did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
Following the alleged attack last year, advocates called on state and federal authorities to prosecute the case as a hate crime. Ayad believes Lansky, who is White, specifically targeted Saida based on her race. She was the only Arab American girl in the park that day, he said; all other children were Black.
After Saida ran away from her attacker, Lansky then approached the girl’s grandmother, who was in the park with her, Ayad said. The older woman was wearing a hijab, making her a target for a hate-based attack, advocates said. Lansky allegedly fled the scene after Saida and other children began to scream.
“My daughter still smiles sometimes but it’s not the same smile. It’s the kind of smile that hides tears,” Saida’s mother, Amirah Sharan, said in a statement read by attorney William Savage during Wednesday’s press conference. “… As a mother, it’s the worst pain imaginable to see your child hurt and know there’s nothing you can do about it.”
mreinhart@detroitnews.com
@max_detroitnews
Detroit, MI
NFC NORTH: Where all four teams stand heading into Week 8
MINNESOTA
Week 7 result: Philadelphia 28, Minnesota 22
Offensive rank: 20th (318.7)
Scoring offense: 15th (24.2)
Defensive rank: 9th (301.7)
Scoring defense: 10th (20.8)
Star performer: Wide receiver Justin Jefferson recorded five receptions for 79 yards in Minnesota’s loss Sunday. Jefferson has 529 career receptions and surpassed DeAndre Hopkins (528 receptions) for the second-most receptions by a player in his first six seasons in NFL history. Only Jarvis Landry (564 receptions) has more. Jefferson has 34 receptions on the season for 528 receiving yards.
Quotable: “The main issue was in the red zone today, just hurting ourselves and causing us to go backwards instead of forward,” Jefferson told vikings.com of their 1-for-6 performance in the red zone vs. Philadelphia Sunday. “We’ve got to execute our plays to the fullest, take one play at a time, and when the opportunity comes, make those plays.
“One of those red zone drives is, that’s me dropping the touchdown and not pulling the ball all way the in. I’m always critical of myself and always, especially, my opportunities are very, very slim, so those opportunities, I’ve got to make the most of them.”
Twentyman: Sunday was a good test for the Vikings squaring off against the defending Super Bowl champs. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts maxed out his NFL passer rating (158.3) by completing 19 of 23 passes for 326 yards and three touchdowns. Scoring in the red zone (1-for-6) and allowing big plays on defense lead to Minnesota’s downfall Sunday. The red zone has been an issue for the Vikings all season (ranked 20th). It’s something they must clean up in an ultra-competitive division like the North.
Next up: at Los Angeles Chargers (4-3), Thurs., Oct. 23, 8:15 p.m.
Detroit, MI
Why did officials go to monitor twice in Lions vs. Bucs? Pool report offers explanation

Sometimes, all it takes is a week for the pendulum to swing.
After being on the wrong end of some controversial officiating in a loss at the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 6, the Detroit Lions benefitted from a rather confusing sequence involving the referees in their 24-9 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday.
The play in question came with 11:36 remaining in the fourth quarter. Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield dropped back to pass on fourth-and-medium and found tight end Cade Otton over the middle of the field. Otton, covered by linebacker Alex Anzalone, extended for the line to gain. The ball came loose, and the Bucs recovered. A fumble on fourth down can’t be advanced by the offense unless it’s collected by the player who fumbled. Otton didn’t get on top of the ball, but the referees’ initial ruling was Otton had gained enough yards for a first down.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell threw the challenge flag. Confusion first arose because it was announced in the stadium that the Lions were challenging whether Otton completed the process of the catch. In the postgame pool report, however, NFL vice president of instant replay Mark Butterworth said Campbell specified he was challenging the line to gain. Regardless, “all reviewable aspects of the play are under review” during a challenge, according to Butterworth, no matter what the challenge is for.
Also drawing some controversy was the replay review itself. Officials made their way to the monitor and initially upheld the call on the field, giving the Bucs, trailing by 15 points and near midfield, a first down. The referees then went back to the monitor for what appeared to be a second look at the replay. They returned with a different ruling, this time saying Otton was short of the first down. Also of note: Otton was down before he fumbled.
Butterworth explained the second review was triggered because there was access gained to a camera angle that was not available when they first went to the monitor.
“Later in the process we received an enhanced view from broadcast that showed that when the knee was down, the ball was short of the line to gain,” Butterworth said. “We were having issues with the referee’s O2O (official-to-official communication system), which is why he (the referee on the field) was brought back to the monitor. We did not show him anything on the screen at that point, it was simply to communicate to clean up the ruling on the field.”
Mayfield said after the game he was “still pretty damn confused about the double review.”
“A lot of things in that game that were a little questionable, but a lot of frustration at the end of that (game),” Mayfield said. “It might be displaced onto (NFL official) John Hussey in the moment, but it’s — I work my ass off and I put a lot into this game, so when things that I don’t see are deemed fair, I’m going to let somebody know.”
rsilva@detroitnews.com
@rich_silva18
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