The Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks dueled in a showdown of two of the best teams in the Eastern Conference on Sunday afternoon. And, as expected, there were plenty of fireworks.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a career-high 52 points to go along with 16 rebounds and seven assists. But it was the Sixers who came out on top. Joel Embiid poured in 40 points along with 15 boards and six assists, while Jimmy Butler scored 27 points–including 16 in the fourth quarter–to help the Sixers clinch a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Aside from Butler's heroics down the stretch, the fourth quarter featured an epic showdown between Antetokounmpo and Ben Simmons, who took turns dunking on one another:
After a ferocious dunk on Simmons in which he backed him down in the post and then simply powered past him, Giannis glared in Simmons' direction, and afterwards appeared to call him a “baby.”
https://twitter.com/WorldWideWob/status/1107399730500431873
But before Giannis could even relish the moment of bringing his team within four points at a crucial juncture in the game, Simmons responded with a huge put back dunk, returning the favor and then some:
Ben Simmons got Giannis back 👀 pic.twitter.com/2CVUwPXj3y
— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) March 17, 2019
Simmons did not have a huge scoring night, but he shot 50 percent from the field and stuffed the stat sheet with nine rebounds–including four offensive boards–and nine assists, narrowly missing out on a triple-double.
The Sixers improved to 6-1 on the year when Embiid, Simmons, Butler, Tobias Harris and J.J. Redick are all available. Philadelphia probably boasts the best starting lineup in the East when everyone is healthy. Meanwhile, the Bucks lost for just the sixth time on their home court.
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