The Milwaukee Bucks won their fourth straight game with a 123-109 victory over the weary and depleted Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday evening at Fiserv Forum.
The Bucks went 4-0 on their weeklong homestand and have now won seven of their last eight to improve to 24-17. The 76ers, which had lost Saturday in Indianapolis, fell to 15-26 after they dressed just nine players – including 3 two-way players.
“It was one of those games,” Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said. “They had so many guys out. It was one of those games – I was thinking early on, let’s get through the game. They have so many injuries, so many guys out today, give them credit, I thought they hung in there.”
Without much size available, the 76ers had no choice but to play small and as fast as possible – which aren’t always the easiest matchups for the Bucks. Milwaukee had its issues keeping up and staying in front of Philadelphia – with a variety of defenses, too – and cold shooting didn’t help.
“I didn’t think we were very physical tonight,” Rivers said. “We’ve been a physical team. Very physical on our switches and tonight everything was point-switches, soft-switches. I think we had nine ‘dare’ shots at halftime and then we start out the third quarter with four more. We usually have two for the game, or three. There was a lot going on out there, but we won the game.”
BOX SCORE:Bucks 123, 76ers 109
A 4-minute, 22-second scoreless streak in which the Bucks missed 10 straight shots to open the second quarter allowed the 76ers to take a brief lead and play a competitive first half in which Milwaukee led just 59-50. Philadelphia stayed within five points through much of the third quarter and trailed 105-98 halfway through the fourth before the Bucks finally put the game out of reach.
Damian Lillard started slowly, going just 3 for 12 through the first three quarters as the 76ers blitzed, trapped and full-court face-guarded him throughout. But, he said he saw some cracks in the defense and scored 16 fourth quarter points to help the Bucks put the game away.
He finished with 25 points on 7-of-17 shooting and became the 38th player in NBA history to reach the 22,000-point threshold — he now has 22,001. Clyde Drexler is No. 37 all-time in scoring with 22,195 points.
“Coming into tonight I didn’t even think about it before the game,” Lillard said of the milestone. “Like I always say, I’m not really good about stuff like that, and then when it happens and I look back at it I’m like man, it’s a great accomplishment. But that’s kind of how I am about it. I’m always proud of it and even when I’m made aware of it, if it’s not right when it’s happening, I don’t go in focused on it.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee with 34 points (on 13-of-17 shooting) and 15 rebounds, and he added six assists while Brook Lopez (12) and Taurean Prince (11) also reached double figures for Milwaukee.
Bobby Portis Jr. (2 for 10) and Gary Trent Jr. (2 for 7) struggled off the bench, but Khris Middleton had 13 points and eight assists in his 25 minutes.
76ers guard Tyrese Maxey, the lone regular starter available for his team, needed 28 shots in 41 minutes to score a team-high 37 points.
Bucks headed in right direction at halfway point of the season
It may have been a bit of a rollercoaster, but the Bucks have pulled into the station at the halfway point of their season as the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference at 24-17. They are one game behind the New York Knicks (23-16) in the loss column and, surprisingly, within shouting distance of Boston (29-13) for the No. 2 seed – though the Bucks have already lost the head-to-head tiebreakers with each, so they would have to have a better overall record to jump them entirely.
After losing six of their first seven games of the season and beginning 2-8, the Bucks have won at a 71% clip (22-9) since Nov. 12 – and that doesn’t include the demolition of the league’s best team in the Oklahoma City Thunder to win the Emirates NBA Cup.
Since getting out of that dip to start the season, the Bucks’ record has only been topped by Oklahoma City (25-5. 83%), Cleveland (23-6, 79%) and nearly matched by Houston (21-9, 70%) and Memphis (20-9, 69%).
“Really? I’ll take it,” Antetokounmpo said about his team’s company. “I’m happy. We’re playing great team ball, we’re competing defensively, we’re playing in a good pace. There’s gonna be times, maybe one or two times we wasn’t ourselves the last couple of weeks but overall we’ve been competing every game and getting better. Guys are playing great and making shots, playing the right way, making the extra pass, helping one another defensively. So I’m happy where we are right now. But we gotta keep on improving. Gotta keep on improving every single day. But, we’ve been playing good. But it’s not enough.”
While that is an impressive run – and no team is going to win every game – the head-spinning 180-degree inversion of that overall success were losses to lottery-bound teams like Brooklyn (twice), Charlotte, Portland and Chicago.
Then there were the corkscrews against top competition, going 0-3 against Boston, Cleveland and New York.
There have been injuries, rampant illness, a stunted return for Middleton and discussions over focus, effort and competitive spirit. And yet as the Bucks concluded the four-game homestand and first half of the schedule with a win over the 76ers on Sunday, they hope it can slingshot them with enough momentum to sustain a tough stretch before the all-star break that features 13 games in 24 days – nine of which are on the road.
“There’s so much basketball left to be played and there’s so much room for us to grow,” Portis said at shootaround on Sunday. “I’m excited to see where we go at the end of the year. Obviously we’re halfway through, all-star break is right around the corner, obviously teams try to take it up a notch after the break, so I’m excited for where we are, I’m excited to see where we’re going.”
Bucks making music in comfortable wins
The Bucks have had a couple of good stretches of play this season, including a season-best seven-game winning streak from Nov. 18-Dec. 3, which was part of a bigger stretch of nine wins in 10 games. They also won five of six from Dec. 8-23.
In those 14 victories, just three were decided by 15 points or more. One went to overtime and five others were decided by two possessions or less.
In ripping off seven wins in their last eight, the Bucks played one close game and have won five others by at least 15 points.
“It’s not the main goal every time we step on the floor,” Prince said of the recent blowouts after the game against Toronto on Friday. “Our main goal is just to lock in defensively, execute offensively, play together, hit open shots, bench guys come off and bring that energy like they do, and it just tends to end up with that type of score. Knowing the things that we need to do and the things we can do at a high level to put us in that position and if we repeat it I think we’ll be OK.”
And as for, perhaps, that has happened more now than before?
“Time together,” he said. “It’s like when you meet a new girl. You can’t do everything in one night, you know what I mean? You gotta spend some together, get to know each other and hopefully the vibes get good to where you can start making good music.”
Five numbers
0: Free throws shot by the Bucks through the first of 14:18 of play. Damian Lillard made the team’s first free throws at the 9:42 mark of the second quarter. Milwaukee ended up going 23 for 30 for the game.
5: Khris Middleton’s place in franchise history for made field goals as he passed Marques Johnson (4,546). Middleton made five shots against the 76ers and has 4,549 for his Bucks career. Glenn Robinson is No. 4 with 4,723 made shots.
9: Available players for the 76ers to start the game, and they finished with just eight as Adem Bona fouled out in the fourth quarter. All three of their two-way players shared the court at one point in the first half.
18: Games left in which point guard Ryan Rollins can be active after Sunday’s game. The Bucks have 41 regular-season games remaining. Rollins is currently a two-way player, and players signed to those deals can only be active for 50 games in a season – but head coach Doc Rivers said there is a chance the team makes a roster move to fully guarantee Rollins’ deal for the rest of the season.
3,007: Career assists for Khris Middleton after he recorded eight vs. the 76ers. He has 2,979 as a member of the Bucks, which is third in franchise history. Paul Pressey is No. 2 with 3,272.
Lillard: “On our team he’s another guy who sees the game the way I see the game, the reads that he makes, his ability to see the game, see a thing developing it happen as it’s developing and I was just on the right end of it a few times in the fourth quarter.”
Is Giannis playing?
Yes. The MVP candidate and league’s second-leading scorer has been managing pain in his right knee since training camp but has yet to miss a game with that issue.
What happened to Joel Embiid?
Embiid didn’t make his debut until Nov. 12 and played three straight games from Nov. 15-20 before being sidelined until early December. He played in nine of the 76ers next 12 games but has been out since Jan. 6 first with a foot injury and most recently a recurrence of swelling in his left knee.
He previously missed games due to soreness in that knee, a sinus fracture and a suspension for a locker room altercation with a reporter.
What time is the Bucks game?
It’s an earlier tip-off tonight, with the game scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. CT.
What channel are the Bucks on?
It is a local broadcast on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin with Lisa Byington, Steve Novak and Melanie Ricks on the call.
Bucks injury report
- AJ Green, out (left quad strain)
- Andre Jackson Jr., available (right hip contusion)
- Giannis Antetokounmpo, available (right patella tendinopathy)
- Khris Middleton, available (bilateral ankle surgery injury management)
- MarJon Beauchamp, out (non-COVID illness)
Bucks probable starters
- Guards: Damian Lillard, Andre Jackson Jr.
- Forwards: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Taurean Prince
- Center: Brook Lopez
Bucks vs. 76ers odds, over/under
Milwaukee is an 11.5-point favorite over Philadelphia and the over/under is 223.5 points per BetMGM.
