Bucks blow game, chance at playoffs

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - The Milwaukee Bucks failed miserably in their last chance to clinch a playoff spot, losing by 34 points to the Detroit Pistons -- 123-89 -- as Ben Wallace all but locked up the rebounding title.\nThe blowout loss was the final act in a dramatic Milwaukee collapse, as the Bucks -- who came within one game of going to the NBA Finals last year -- lost 16 of their final 22 games.\nWith both Toronto and Indiana winning Wednesday night, the Bucks dropped into ninth place in the conference.\nWallace, who grabbed 20 rebounds, joins Hakeem Olajuwon, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton as the only players to lead the league in rebounds and blocks in the same season.\nCliff Robinson scored 24 points and Jerry Stackhouse added 23 as Detroit (50-32) got its first 50-win season since 1996-97. Rick Carlisle passed Chuck Daly for most wins by a rookie Pistons coach.\nDetroit also hit a team-record 15 3-pointers.\nGlenn Robinson led Milwaukee with 21 points, but Sam Cassell and Ray Allen had only six each.\nMilwaukee could have clinched the seventh seed and a first-round matchup with Detroit by beating the Pistons, but the Bucks were out of the game by halftime.\nThe Bucks led by as many as seven points in the first quarter, but the Pistons ended the period with a 20-4 run to go up by nine. Stackhouse had 13 of Detroit's 32 points in the period.\nDetroit continued to dominate in the second quarter, pushing the margin to as many as 21 before settling for a 64-44 lead at intermission. The Pistons hit eight 3-pointers in the half, one short of a team record.\nThe second half turned into a prolonged victory party for the Pistons as they led by as much as 36 points.\nDetroit's 64-point half was its most productive of the season. Detroit will have homecourt advantage in a playoff series for the first time since the 1990-91 season. The Bucks finished the season 41-41 after being as many as 13 games over .500 (26-13) in January. Wallace's 20 rebounds meant that Tim Duncan needed 40 in his final game to win the rebounding title.