Milwaukee, WI
Philadelphia 76ers vs. Milwaukee Bucks, 02/25/2024
The 76ers (33-23) face the Milwaukee Bucks (36-21) in their next game, a Sunday matinee in Philadelphia.
The contest is a battle of top-six offenses and marks the second game in the season series after the Bucks escaped with a 118-117 opening-night victory on Oct. 26 in Milwaukee. First-year Buck Damian Lillard scored a game-high 39 points (17-17 ft), while Tyrese Maxey countered with 31 points and a game-high eight assists. Kelly Oubre Jr. poured in 27 points (9-11 fg, 5-6 3fg, 4-4 ft) off the bench in his Sixers’ debut.
The final game between the Sixers and Bucks this regular season will be March 14 in Wisconsin.
On the second night of a back-to-back after hosting the Knicks, the Sixers defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers Friday by a final score of 104-97 to take a 2-1 lead in that season series.
“In the end, it’s super important,” 76ers Head Coach Nick Nurse said of the bounce-back victory. “I think we talked about it before the game that we were more measuring our ability to do that today versus who we’re playing. You can tell right from the start that there was a whole lot more pop, physicality, just chasing the ball and the glass better. Better contesting, better sharing, all that stuff.”
Maxey matched Cleveland’s Jarrett Allen with a game-high 24 points for the Sixers.
76ERS-BUCKS INJURY REPORT
De’Anthony Melton (back) returned to the 76ers’ lineup Friday for the first time since Jan. 12.
Joel Embiid (left knee meniscus procedure) and Robert Covington (left knee bone bruise) remain out, while KJ Martin (right ankle impingement) is probable.
Giannis Antetokounmpo (right knee patellar tendinitis) is probable for the Bucks. Khris Middleton (left ankle sprain) remains out.
The Bucks (36-21) picked up a 112-107 road win over the first-place Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday in their first game after the All-Star break. Milwaukee trailed 57-51 at halftime, before winning the third quarter 36-13 and being outscored 37-25 in the fourth.
Giannis Antetokounmpo posted a game-high 33 points (9-13 fg, 1-1 3fg, 14-21 ft) with 13 rebounds and five assists in a game-high 41 minutes. Damian Lillard – who earned NBA All-Star MVP honors last Sunday – tallied 21 points (8-23 fg, 2-8 3fg, 3-4 ft), nine rebounds, 10 assists, two steals, and a block in 38 minutes.
Antetokounmpo averages a team-high 30.8 points and 11.3 rebounds, plus 6.4 assists per game. Lillard averages 24.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, and a team-leading 6.8 assists per contest.
Milwaukee hired former 76ers head coach Doc Rivers as their new head coach on Jan. 26. The Sixers acquired Cam Payne and a 2027 second-round pick from the Bucks in exchange for Patrick Beverley at the Feb. 8 trade deadline.
FRIDAY’S TOP PERFORMANCES
- Maxey scored 15 of his 24 points (9-22 fg, 2-5 3fg, 4-4 ft) in the fourth quarter of the win over the Cavs. His final line also included seven rebounds, five assists, and two steals in 38 minutes.
- Harris shot 6-for-14 from the field, 1-for-2 from 3-point range, and made both of his free throws on a 15-point, nine-rebound night. He added four assists and two steals in 34 minutes.
- In 20 minutes off the Sixers’ bench, Payne sparked the club with 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including a 4-for-6 effort from beyond the arc.
- Hield knocked down three of his six 3-point attempts and finished with 13 points (5-9 fg, 3-6 3fg) and five rebounds in 32 minutes as a starter.
- In 28 minutes as a starter against Cleveland, Oubre Jr. added 10 points (4-9 fg, 1-3 3fg, 1-2 ft) and five rebounds.
Buddy Hield on “weathering the storm” with Joel Embiid out…
“We’re all we’ve got right now. We’ve got to be tough. We’ve got to come together even more, and find ways to get wins.”
Sunday afternoon’s game is a 1 p.m. ET start in South Philadelphia.
The home Sixers will wear their white Association Edition uniforms and the Bucks will be in their black Statement Edition uniforms.