The Philadelphia 76ers came close to defeating the Milwaukee Bucks but couldn’t hang on long enough to pull off the upset. The Sixers led by 12 at one point in the first half and led at the start of the fourth quarter but were outscored 34-22 in the final period, losing 114-105 and collecting their second straight loss.
Nick Nurse was pleased with how the Sixers played and how they were able to defend. Although Giannis Antetokounmpo ended the game with 32 points on 9-12 shooting, the Bucks posted a 112.8 offensive rating in the first half, which is well below their season mark of 119.1.
“I think that the effort was really good,” Nurse told reporters after the loss in Milwaukee. “I think you could see schematically defensively, we were doing a lot of things we wanted to do, especially the first half. We turned them over a bunch in the first half. Probably the difference in the game; we didn't quite get to as many turnovers in the second, although there probably should have been a few more. We had a couple of things and then we had a couple jarred loose that we didn't quite recover and things like that. But, yeah, I thought we did a lot of really good things.”
Tyrese Maxey played really well in his second game since returning from a concussion. He scored 30 points but 29 of them came in the first three quarters. As his legs began to desert him and the Bucks did a better job of funneling him into Brook Lopez, he became less effective, especially with the referees allowing a good amount of physicality.
Nurse pointed to how Lopez typically plays drop coverage but that he stepped up higher to make things harder for Maxey. “It wasn't quite a full-out blitz but it was kind of two on the ball for a while,” Nurse said, adding later that the 76ers didn’t execute well enough on the plays where Maxey did get blitzed. Philly's offense got the shots it wanted and its defense forced Milwaukee to take the shots it was trying to force. The difference, in Nurse's eyes, was which team made its shots and which team failed to take advantage of too many chances.
“We had, maybe, three straight wide-open catch-and-shoot corner threes. You gotta make them if they're making them and you want to keep level with them,” Nurse said. “It's just a make-miss type of situation. I still thought we were executing, getting some pretty good shots there.”
Tobias Harris scored just 15 points but nine of them came in the fourth quarter on 4-5 shooting. He was the Sixers' leading scorer in the period after providing little support on the scoreboard for most of the game. Nurse lamented that Harris was “not getting many opportunities, no great looks” throughout the game but that, late in the contest, he was “getting into some good places and vaulting up and knocking him down. It was good — great — to see.”
Part of the reason Harris was struggling to find so many great looks was his own inability to create his own good shots. Although he can make some tough jumpers and possesses sound footwork in the post, he isn’t able to get over or around many defenders. It was a solid Harris performance only in comparison to some of the truly lackluster showings he has put on as of late.
While Maxey was able to score at will against former teammate Patrick Beverley, the 76ers weren’t able to provide enough complementary scoring to steal the win in Milwaukee. Cam Payne provided a spark off the bench with 13 points on 5-6 shooting in 11 minutes and the team overall shot very well. But a poor shooting night on shots at the rim and getting to the foul line 10 fewer times than the Bucks put the Sixers behind the eight ball.
The 76ers can take a lot from their loss to the Bucks as they try to pull off wins in a slate of tough games. A home matchup with the Charlotte Hornets should serve as a nice tune-up game before facing more playoff-caliber teams.
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