The Philadelphia 76ers were back on their home floor Tuesday night for a high-profile matchup with Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks. Between playoff seeding and the MVP rack, a lot hung in the balance of this battle between two of the Eastern Conference's top teams.
Thanks to strong showings from Joel Embiid, James Harden, and Tobias Harris, the Sixers found themselves with a comfortable lead for a majority of this game. During the end of the third and start of the fourth quarter, the tides slowly began to change. Giannis went on a scoring surge with Embiid on the sidelines and got the Bucks back to within striking distance.
In the game's final minutes, things were neck-and-neck. Both sides hit big shots as they attempted to steal a victory. Harden had the ball in his hands with a chance to win on the last possession, but couldn't get his step-back three to fall. Embiid grabbed the offensive rebound and had a chance to lay it in for the tie until Giannis came out of nowhere for a block. Thanks to this incredible play, the Bucks walked out of the Wells Fargo Center with a 118-116 victory.
After the game, players were asked about things slipping away from them in the fourth quarter. Most mentioned poor execution as a catalyst in their downfall and cited it as a key area of improvement in this final stretch of the regular season. First up was James Harden.
“Work in progress. Something that we have to be detailed on and focus on. Which is something that Doc [Rivers] has been preaching these last few weeks. The last two teams we played, execution in the fourth quarter was top-tier, and that's where we need to be,” said the Sixers guard.
Later on, Tobias Harris also brought up how execution played a factor in the Bucks seizing control of the game in the fourth quarter.
“Just a few execution things on both ends of the floor, offensively, defensively. Mainly in that fourth quarter, we had a couple of lapses that led to open looks for them, and good looks that they converted on. Overall, we just got to focus on a few things on the defensive end to really get stops in crunch time,” said Harris.
In the final quarter, Milwaukee outscored the Sixers 37-27 and shot 72.2% from the floor. Their comfort level down the stretch in a playoff-like atmosphere is a testament to how ready they are for the postseason.
For the second-straight game, poor execution down the stretch led to the Sixers' downfall. They had the Suns and Bucks on the ropes in each matchup, but could not get it done in the final minutes to come away with a victory. As two of the league's premier teams, the Sixers should find some silver lining in taking both squads the distance in a span of 72 hours.
Growing pains were expected for the new-look Sixers, and we are witnessing it now. Since Harden's debut, the Sixers have had minimal live reps to figure out how to close out tight games. Their race against time has forced them to figure things out on the fly as they gear up for a playoff push.
If the Sixers are to fulfill their championship aspirations, improving their late-game execution will be essential. Unfortunately for them, they only have seven regular season games left to smooth out any before the bright lights of the postseason turn on.
Follow Us
Subscribe