The Philadelphia 76ers (33-24) played the Milwaukee Bucks (37-21) in a Sunday matinee buzzing with storylines. Doc Rivers exacted revenge on the Sixers as his squad won 119-98.

Let’s break down the Sixers' loss to the Bucks.

76ers player notes:

Tyrese Maxey: 24 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, 8-19 FG shooting

Maxey cooked here. He was nothing short of brilliant all the way around, once again carrying a Sixers team that otherwise had no business being as close as it was in this game. That burden caught up to him later in the game but he was still very good for much of the contest.

Paul Reed: 13 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks, 6-13 FG shooting

Bball Paul had too many funky Bball Paul moments where he took a shot he absolutely should not have. Aside from that, and despite racking up a bunch of fouls, he did a nice job standing up to the Bucks' big frontcourt. The job he did as a rebounder and paint defender was admirable.

Bucks player notes:

Giannis Antetokounmpo: 30 points, 12 rebounds, 9 assists, 10-17 FG shooting

The Sixers showed multiple bodies to Antetokounmpo each time on defense, forbidding him from getting into the paint by his own power. He still found ways to chisel his way to the hoop and impact the game in numerous other ways. And unlike his last game in Philly, he took care of business from the foul line. Especially in the second half, he stamped his mark on the game.

Damian Lillard: 24 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals, 8-15 FG shooting

Lillard sunk shot after shot on top of generating extra possessions for Milwaukee with timely defensive plays. His creation of trees for other teammates got the Bucks up big. Antetokounmpo was a major recipient of his playmaking, too.

Game recap:

At long last, Doc Rivers made his return to Philadelphia. The former 76ers head coach was greeted with thundering boos as he was introduced. While his former players (at least those still with the team) speak about him kindly, Philly fans despise him as much as any local sports figure in recent history. That his Bucks tenure has begun with a losing record through 10 games makes them happy but doesn’t dismiss the challenge that the still Joel Embiid-less Sixers were met with.

Khris Middleton was inactive for Milwaukee while Philly was without KJ Martin along with Embiid and Robert Covington.

1st half

With Nico Batum on Lillard and Tobias Harris on the Greek Freak, the 76ers made sure to show help at the middle of the floor to make things tougher for the two opposing stars. Lillard raced out to seven quick points and Maxey dished three assists to provide the same amount of points for his side. The quickness Lillard had over Batum hurt the Sixers early but they stood strong thanks to a great start from Paul Reed. He was not overwhelmed by Brook Lopez's size on either end and scored seven points early, including on a three.

Kyle Lowry returned to action, still sporting the bandage on his forehead after receiving stitches. His pesky defense and fearlessness in the face of a full-steam-ahead Giannis made him impactful early on. Nick Nurse opted for two-point-guard lineups, playing Lowry with both Maxey and Cam Payne. The latter pairing played with De'Anthony Melton and eventually Batum at center.

Patrick Beverley, still beloved in Philly even though he went to bat for Rivers, received applause as he checked into the game in the final few minutes of the first quarter, though he also got some boos. The Bucks' hot shooting gave them a comfortable lead over the Sixers, whose offense without Maxey looked appealing. Lillard reading passes like they were kids' books and turning them into easy points certainly didn’t help. Milwaukee led 35-21 after the opening period.

Threes from Lowry and Melton, an off-balance jumper from Maxey and a breakaway layup dunk from Buddy Hield off of a Maxey steal helped the 76ers make it a seven-point game. Maxey torched Malik Beasley off the dribble time after time. But a strong showing off the bench from Bobby Portis, who made six of his first seven shots, kept the Bucks going. They shot the lights out from three while the Sixers couldn’t shoot worth a candle.

For as well as the Sixers were forcing Lillard into tougher shots — a job done well by Kelly Oubre Jr., who slid his feet perfectly — and shrunk the floor for Antetokouunmpo, the Bucks were just making their shots. And the Sixers settled for far too many bad shots. Poor decision-making from Harris, Oubre and Reed underscored the issue.

At halftime, the 76ers trailed 69-48.

2nd half

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Maxey once again cooked the Bucks defense off the dribble with an and-one layup at the start of the half. Still, the Bucks kept going strong. Antetokounmpo muscled his way to the bucket and even after losing the ball when getting doubled, dove on the 50-50 ball and assisted Beasley for three. Hield touted his playmaking with some nice feeds and Batum hit some threes but it did very little to help the 76ers' cause.

Mo Bamba was inserted into the game as the backup center instead of Batum halfway through the third quarter. With Reed in foul trouble, the Sixers were without a choice. He had no answers for Giannis besides fouling him. But he wasn’t bricking away at the foul line so badly that he wanted to work on his free throws after the game. The Bucks superstar was making them very well.

Melton had a nice third quarter, coming up with much-needed buckets and heads-up plays as the 76ers stayed down but not out. Despite some uncharacteristically sloppy plays from Lowry, the deficit was a manageable 13 heading into the fourth quarter.

Lowry took a shot to the face again but stayed in the game as the 76ers tried to chip away. Bamba was eventually subbed out and Harris slid down to center. The offensive rebounding from the backcourt was huge, though Harris playing scared and Hield coming up empty time after time looked like it would doom Philly.

The Sixers were unable to get anything going on offense and had to make up for it on defense, double-teaming Antetokounmpo a bunch. Unfazed by the small lineup that eventually featured Batum back at center, he picked apart the Philly defense. Harris was eventually subbed out for Reed, who had just one more foul before disqualification. With over four minutes to play, Ricky Council IV and Darius Bazley checked in, signaling the waving of the white flag. No blown lead from Rivers this time.

Random tidbits:

  • Rivers discussed his Sixers tenure ahead of the game. Among other things, he chalked up the second-round defeat last season to being the underdogs to the Boston Celtics, said that he wishes he could have another shot at the infamous loss to the Atlanta Hawks and explained that he enjoyed both his tenure with the team and returning to Philly.
  • Nurse ended up tightening his rotation in the second half, which partly explains this, but only a few minutes each for Payne and Council was probably not enough. The chance that they had enough juice on offense to turn the tides in this game was slim but still existent.

The 76ers will hit the road for the first time following the All-Star break and play the Boston Celtics on Tuesday.