In his first two National Basketball Association games, Brandon Jennings has been nothing short of spectacular.

In his first outing, the rookie point guard flirted with a triple double. One night later, Jennings dropped in 24 points - and single-handedly took over the game in the third period.

The only difference between the two games: his Bucks won the second time around.

Jennings exploded in the third period of Milwaukee's 96-85 victory over the Pistons, scoring 16 points on 7-for-7 shooting as the Bucks erased an 11-point halftime deficit.

"He gave us a huge lift," Bucks head coach Scott Skiles said. "He got in the zone there for a little while and once again showed you another element of his game."

He had nine straight points during a two-minute stretch that put the Bucks back on top for good and connected on a key three-pointer at the 3:22 mark that extended the Milwaukee lead to five points.

Jennings, who struggled with his shot during exhibition season, has started to show signs of getting into a rhythm. Saturday, he connected on 9 of 13 shots and finished 3-for-4 from beyond the arc.

"After the first three I hit, the rim just looked like an ocean," Jennings said. "I kept getting in the lane and getting open shots. It wasn't like they were bad shots; they were open shots so I had to take them."

Jennings' performance helped erase a lackluster first half for the Bucks, who also struggled out of the gate Friday night in Philadelphia. Milwaukee shot just 30 percent in the half, as Jennings, Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut were a combined 3-for-14 from the field.

Detroit, meanwhile, shot 50 percent leading Skiles to have a few words with his team during halftime, though the Bucks did score the final five points of the second period.

"He was a little mad but at the same time, he was trying to keep it positive for us," Jennings said.

Whatever the coach said paid off as the Bucks went on a 27-6 run - keyed by Jennings' hot hand - and held off a couple late Pistons rallies. Detroit never got closer than four points in the final period.

NOTES: The Bucks bench scored 52 points and had 27 rebounds. ... Milwaukee is 30-12 all-time in home openers and has won six of the last seven. ... The Bucks won the rebounding battle, 42-37. ... Luc Richard Mbah a Moute had eight rebounds, including four during the final three minutes, and is one away from 500 in his career. ... The Bucks out-scored Detroit, 36-14, in the third quarter, shooting 68 percent. ... Detroit's Richard Hamilton missed the game with a sprained right ankle. ... Michael Redd left the game in the third period with soreness in his left knee. ... The announced attendance was 15,095.