DETROIT — One night after leading a comeback against New York Knicks, Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons’ spirited effort fell short against the Milwaukee Bucks.

As a result, Detroit is now locked into the Eastern Conference’s No. 6 seed with just one game remaining in the regular season. Milwaukee clinched the No. 5 seed.

The Pistons will play either the Knicks or Indiana Pacers to open the NBA playoffs. Sunday’s regular-season finale is a rematch with the Bucks in Milwaukee.

Cunningham, Detroit’s All-Star guard, had little trouble scoring Friday night, especially in the first half, where he poured in 21 of his 36 points. It marked his second consecutive 36-point performance, following a 36-point outing against the Knicks on Thursday.

Milwaukee, however, countered with its own All-Star — 11-time selection Giannis Antetokounmpo — who finished with 32 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds to lead the Bucks to a 125-119 win at Little Caesars Arena.

The Bucks had five players finish in double figures. Bobby Portis added 17 points and 10 rebounds, Brook Lopez scored 15 points along with seven rebounds, Kevin Porter Jr. chipped in 16, and Flint native Kyle Kuzma contributed 10.

Detroit also had six players reach double digits. Malik Beasley had 21 points off the bench, hitting seven 3-pointers. Tobias Harris finished with 17 points, Dennis Schroder added 12, and both Ausar Thompson and Jalen Duren scored 11.

Similar to Thursday’s game, the Pistons trailed for most of the night and were down by as many as 11 points. With 1:10 left in the third quarter, Schroder’s layup trimmed the deficit to one, making it 94-93.

At the 10-minute mark of the fourth quarter, Cunningham knocked down his second 3-pointer of the game to give Detroit its first lead since the opening period.

The lead changed hands several times in the final minutes before Milwaukee pulled away for good. Antetokounmpo delivered an emphatic one-handed slam to give the Bucks a 109-106 edge, helping them maintain control down the stretch.