The Philadelphia 76ers (41-22) faced off against the Milwaukee Bucks (45-18), owners of a 16-game winning streak. The Sixers snapped the streak with an incredible comeback win by a score of 133-130.
Let's break down the Sixers' win over the Bucks.
Sixers player notes:
Joel Embiid: 31 points, 6 rebounds, 10 assists, 11-22 FG shooting
Embiid got the Sixers going to start with his scoring AND playmaking, as he notched four assists in the first seven minutes. He opted to take more jumpers rather than test Lopez's strength. The strategy cost him chances to earn free throws but he came through with plenty of buckets. His playmaking shined throughout the game as he matched his season-high in assists and he hit the biggest shot of the night.
James Harden: 38 points, 9 rebounds, 10 assists, 11-26 FG shooting
Harden was dominant the last time he played the Bucks, showing off an affinity for mid-range shooting that has evaporated as the season has gone on. In this one, he led a huge run in the fourth quarter to get Philly back into it after an up-and-down first half. His 38 points are the most he has had as a Sixer.
Tyrese Maxey: 26 points, 3 rebounds, 0 assists, 8-12 FG shooting
Maxey remained in the starting lineup and showed just why it's the right move for the Sixers. He fed off their stars well, particularly on some feeds from Harden on some run-ahead layups, and got to the line a bunch.
Georges Niang: 16 points, 1 rebound, 0 assists, 5-6 3PT shooting
Niang still had his struggles on defense and the glass but he bounced back from a shooting slump by getting hot from beyond the arc. He did commit a five-second violation late in the game but still, he was huge.
Bucks player notes:
Giannis Antetokounmpo: 34 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, 9-21 FG shooting
Antetokounmpo demolished the defenders in front of him with his size and dexterity on close shots. He tends to do that, you know. The Bucks superstar didn't have his best shooting night, turned the ball over five times and got plenty of help from his co-stars but Milwaukee's attack was still centered around the physical, up-tempo mindset he brought to the table.
Jrue Holiday: 26 points, 4 rebounds, 13 assists, 9-13 FG shooting
Holiday's shooting from all over the floor was really good, he dropped dimes and he, of course, made things tough for the Sixers' offense. Even without Antetokounmpo on the floor for much of his minutes, he beat up his former team.
Brook Lopez: 26 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 10-16 FG shooting
Lopez has become perhaps the best Embiid stopper in the league — not in the sense that he truly stops him but that he makes it the hardest for him to score. Splash Mountain was a force on defense and did a lot of his scoring from the paint, a sort of homage to his old days as a post scoring machine.
Game recap:
1st half
The Bucks had Holiday guard Maxey, Lopez guard Embiid and Antetokounmpo guard Tucker to be a roamer. Maxey matched up with Holiday defensively while Tucker took the Greek Freak assignment. Antetokounmpo looked to get out in transition and came away with a layup, a dish to Holiday for a corner three and a trip to the foul line. But he was hit with a 10-second violation, resulting in only one shot. Philly's defense was a bit lackadaisical to start this one, especially with their close-outs, but was able to keep up offensively.
Georges Niang was one of the Sixers' first subs tonight as Doc Rivers seemingly looked to mirror Tucker's minutes with Anteotkounmpo's (like he did earlier in the season). Rivers also decided not to stagger Embiid and Harden's minutes, opting for Maxey to lead the bench unit. Anteotkounmpo had come back into the game as Embiid and Harden went out. Rivers entrusted Paul Reed to match up with him.
Bobby Portis provided some instant offense off the bench for Milwaukee but got a quick hook as Giannis came back in. Mike Budenholzer played Jae Crowder in Portis' place to surround his superstar with more shooting— a smart personnel move. The spacing gave Antetokounmpo the space to attack and he did just that.
When Embiid came back in, he switched on screens more as opposed to his usual drop coverage. He did a good job forcing Milwaukee into some tough shots, though Holiday was up for the challenge. The first time he tried going right at Lopez, he got his shot blocked and fell to the floor, allowing Lopez to convert on an uncontested three as the trailer.
The Bucks scored in bunches heading into halftime and led 59-53 at the break.
2nd half
Tobias Harris was held out of the second half of the game due to left calf soreness. Melton started the half in his place and guarded Holiday. The Bucks came out still firing on all cylinders on offense while the Sixers mostly got by thanks to some shots from Maxey. Embiid started doing his thing even as the Bucks doubled him more aggressively.
Milwaukee was able to pull farther ahead by doing something Philly has often struggled to do — play well with its superstar on the bench. The Sixers' over-helping on drives, turnovers and inability to score consistently allowed the Bucks to go on a 19-9 run in the four minutes where Antetokounmpo sat in the third quarter. Grayson Allen scoring 20 points in the third quarter certainly helped.
The Sixers trailed by 14 heading into the fourth quarter. Tucker was knocked out of the game due to back spasms, making a comeback seem almost impossible, especially with Embiid needing to rest for a few minutes to start the quarter. However, a couple of triples from Niang and an old-fashioned three-point play from Reed gave them hope as they cut the deficit to five with over 10 minutes left. This road trip is really shaping up to be the one where the bench unit proves that the team never says die.
Rivers decided to stagger his stars this time, as Harden played with the bench guys. He assisted Niang on those triples, hit a stepback three and hit an and-one layup (and the foul shot) to make it a one-point game. Antetokounmpo wasn't ready to give up the lead, though, as he relentlessly attacked the basket and scored often.
Niang tied the game on a triple but Anteotkounmpo took the lead right back on a layup through contact from Embiid. The game's physicality picked up with aggressive drives to the hoop from Embiid and Antetokounmpo. The teams went back and forth and Philly got it back to one after three free throws from Jalen McDaniels. An ensuing Holiday three pushed it back to four and a McDaniels putback slam got it back to two.
After some Giannis free throws, Harden hit a 30-footer to get it back to one, pulling from super deep as the shot clock dwindled down. Embiid hit a three to give Philly the lead with 42 seconds left. Maxey hit two free throws to get the lead to four and Philly held on down the stretch.
Random thoughts:
- It's insanely impressive that the Bucks have gone on such a prolonged stretch of dominance with Khris Middleton still trying to get back to being his best self. I, like many, had penciled in the Boston Celtics as the East's team to beat but was wrongly quick to forget that the Bucks took them to seven games in last year's playoffs without Middleton entirely.
- My guy Sean Barnard saw this win coming. Props to him!
On the Sixers' next stop on their road trip, they'll face the Indiana Pacers on Monday.
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