Pistons Crush Bucks 96-78 — Detroit's No. 1 Seed Is Locked In

The Detroit Pistons aren't just the East's best team — they're playing like they want everyone to know it. Detroit throttled the Milwaukee Bucks 96-78 at Little Caesars Arena on Wednesday, winning by 18 in a game that was never competitive.

The Pistons are the only team in the NBA that has clinched their exact playoff seed, locked in at No. 1 in the Eastern Conference. While every other contender is still jockeying for position in the final week, Detroit is coasting with supreme confidence.

Milwaukee, meanwhile, was short-handed with Giannis Antetokounmpo among several players out. The Bucks are trying to stay healthy for the postseason, but losses like this don't exactly inspire confidence. Detroit's defense suffocated them from start to finish — and that's the kind of identity that wins in April.