The Philadelphia 76ers (36-30) got one last regular-season look at the Milwaukee Bucks (43-24). In the Thursday showdown at Fiserv Forum, the Sixers gave the Bucks a good fight but were defeated by a score of 114-105.
Let’s break down the Sixers' loss.
76ers player notes:
Tyrese Maxey: 30 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 12-23 FG shooting
After returning from a concussion in the Sixers' last game, Maxey slammed on the gas all night and blew past defender after defender to rise for jumpers and attack the hoop. With an array of tough shots, he once again broke out the red cape and went into hero mode. The fact that he didn’t get to the foul line very much was not the result of fearing the deer and their mighty defense. Maxey was out of magic by the time the fourth quarter rolled around but he was absolutely spectacular tonight.
Tobias Harris: 15 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 5-11 FG shooting
Harris seemed to start the game off on the right foot, doing the best he could against the Greek Freak and using his scoring aggression to create shots for his teammates. But he once again failed to make a field goal in the first half (though he went 3-3 on free throws) and even more brutal mistakes littered his performance. Although he provided some pivotal scoring in the fourth quarter, this was mostly a letdown performance from Harris.
Bucks player notes:
Giannis Antetokounmpo: 32 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists, 9-12 FG shooting
The Sixers tried their hardest not to let Antetokounmpo go battering-ram mode, showing him multiple bodies time after time. They still found it very hard to do. While he may have generously gotten some extra steps a few times, his smashmouth style was once again too much for the 76ers to contain, especially with how well he shot his free throws.
Damian Lillard: 17 points, 3 rebounds, 9 assists, 7-16 FG shooting
Lillard has shot the ball very well against the 76ers this season. While he didn’t do that in this game, the threat of his shooting certainly opened up a lot for the Bucks. His ability to hit any tough shot once again came up clutch for Milwaukee.
Game recap:
After splitting a pair of games with the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, the 76ers headed to Milwaukee seeking their first win against Antetokounmpo and company. Seeing old pals Doc Rivers and Patrick Beverley again, the Sixers hoped to put together a respectable performance on offense after three consecutive games scoring below 100 points, including their two games in New York where they failed to reach 80 points.
Beverley was bumped into the Bucks' starting lineup with Malik Beasley ruled out. The Sixers' starting lineup from the last game stayed intact.
1st half
PatBev guarded Maxey to start off the game, a matchup of former mentor and student. He got loose in a pick-and-roll with Mo Bamba and forced a switch to nail a pair of treys to start the game off. The Bucks responded with three of their own as the 76ers sold out hard to stop Giannis. Harris stood him up as his teammates tried to double him but he kept the ball moving, resulting in open shots and three assists for him in less than six minutes.
But the Sixers' offense looked quite good, too, at the start of the game. The aforementioned great start for Maxey, some nice shot-making from Kyle Lowry and Harris' ability to make a few plays allowed them to keep up. Maxey got stopped on hard traps a few times but was able to go to work when he had the space, taking it right at Lillard and Beverley. Buddy Hield nailed a pair of threes off the bench to give Philly a five-point advantage after the first 12 minutes.
Paul Reed stuffed a layup attempt from Antetonounmpo but we've been there, done that. But the superstar was able to slam one home a few minutes later. KJ Martin, despite his best efforts, was a bit too small to be left alone with Giannis, leading to more frequent double-teams. However, he and his Bucks teammates weren’t always able to capitalize. Both teams' offenses stalled for a bit, finding it tough to find a rhythm.
Philly, with a lineup comprised heavily of bench players, managed to go on a 10-2 run to go up by double figures. Three triples from Cam Payne and strong defense from Reed gave the 76ers a lead as big as 12. Revenge coursed through his veins as he drained shot after shot, holding down the fort until the starters returned.
Lillard, of course, made things way easier for the Bucks. The 76ers met him at the top of the halfcourt when he got ball screens. It contained him but it opened up space in the paint for his teammates to attack. Maxey stayed on a heater, which Jae Crowder tried to stop by weirdly trying to hug/tie up Maxey after committing a common foul. He was hit with a technical foul, too, and Maxey drained a three off the catch out of the sideline play.
Maxey went into the half with 18 points on 7-10 shooting as the 76ers led 61-53.
2nd half
Bamba having to move so much in the halfcourt was hard on him, as Brook Lopez drained an open three with Bamba unable to make the long closeout in time after helping in the paint. Harris made his first field goal on a downtown shot and Maxey made another, his fifth, shortly thereafter. Following the regularly scheduled missed dunk from Kelly Oubre Jr., Maxey took a charge from the Greek Freak.
Both offenses stalled at the same time again, going scoreless for nearly two minutes. The layup that broke the seal was a Lillard layup where Oubre impeded on his landing space trying to block him from behind. Lillard and Maxey were exchanging some words before that play and, with the physicality of the game and the weird foul from Crowder in the first half, tensions were slowly but surely rising.
Maxey continued to work his way around the defense with sharp, twitchy moves in the halfcourt to get the Sixers offense back on track. But the Bucks started to get rolling with their stars creating open corner threes that cut Philly's lead to two. Milwaukee eventually retook the lead before losing it again by the end of the quarter. Great rebounding efforts from Reed led to some more spectacular buckets from Maxey, including some marvelous finishes at the hoop.
Payne, still not done exacting his revenge, got a high-arching shot over Lopez to fall. But with some key scoring from Bobby Portis Jr. —one of which was a layup assisted by Lopez, the other a quick turnaround jumper — the Bucks again regained the lead. A tough runner from Portis pushed the lead to six as Maxey looked to be running out of fuel and no one else on the Sixers stepping up.
Harris salvaged a broken possession (that he helped break by dribbling in space) with a three-point heave to beat the shot clock. A putback slam from Bamba made it a three-point game. Giannis scored some points to get the Bucks up by more as Harris fell to the floor in immense pain, grabbing his right ankle after twisting it trying to contest the Greek Freak. He stayed in the game as Philly tried to make up the deficit.
Another bucket from Harris kept the Sixers close but they were unable to stop the Bucks. They kept at it, chipping away each time down. But they couldn’t finish the job and can now enjoy PatBev's Belt 2 A$$ tour tweet.
Assorted observations:
- The Sixers could have some help next game in the form of young center Kai Jones. He's a very raw player still but his athleticism could unlock some things.
- There may not have been many more games where Maxey's lack of a star whistle was more apparent. Some of the contact the Bucks got away with on his drives was unbelievable.
The 76ers will face the Charlotte Hornets back at home on Saturday night.
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