Australian Thon Maker has had another poor NBA shooting night as his Detroit Pistons were soundly defeated again by the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Bucks, powered by MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo, won 120-99 in Milwaukee on Thursday (AEST) and hold a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Antetokounmpo had 26 points and repeatedly terrorised his former protege Maker with dunks and huge defensive plays.
The Bucks also thumped the Pistons 122-90 in game one.
Maker was drafted by the Bucks in 2016 but the Sudanese-born, Australian-raised forward-centre asked for a trade mid-season when his minutes dwindled and was shipped to the Pistons in February.
Maker has had a horror shooting run in the two play-off losses, missing eight of his 10 field goals in game one and seven of nine in game two.
He has missed all nine three-point attempts.
Maker will repeatedly appear on Antetokounmpo's highlight reel from the game, including a massive second-quarter dunk over the Australian.
The Pistons – who will host the next two games – have been without their All-Star power forward Blake Griffin, who is suffering knee soreness.
Earlier, the Boston Celtics rallied to defeat the Indiana Pacers and take a 2-0 lead in their play-off series, although their Australian big man Aron Baynes' bad run of injuries may have continued.
The Celtics won 99-91 in Boston and need just two more wins to move on to the second round.
The Pacers led by 12 points late in the third quarter but Kyrie Irving, who top-scored with 37 points, and Jayson Tatum, with 26 points, led Boston's comeback with major plays in the final quarter.
Baynes was sensational in the opening two minutes of the game with a dunk, block and three-pointer, but his hot form cooled in the second period when he fought for a rebound and appeared to twist an ankle.
He did not play in the fourth quarter.
The big Queenslander has struggled with injuries this season, missing 31 regular season games with a broken hand, bruised foot and ankle sprain.
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