MILWAUKEE â The Sixers turned to hack-a-Giannis with less than a minute remaining, as a last-ditch effort to manufacture more time to close the gap.
Instead, the two-time MVP used the free-throw stripe to finish off a 32-point performance, and a comeback victory for his Bucks.
The Sixers let a 10-point second-half lead slip in a 114-105 heartbreaking loss Thursday night at Fiserv Forum, but flashed the level of intensity that coach Nick Nurse desires while continuing to play without reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid.
âWeâre heading in the right direction,â added All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey, who finished with 30 points on 5-of-9 shooting from deep in his second game back from a concussion. âThatâs two out of three games on the road that we were extremely aggressive.
âI think that we hit first in both of those games, and weâve got to take it and built on that.â
It was the Sixersâ fifth loss in their past six games, while completing a 1-2 road trip against opponents in the top 4 of the Eastern Conference standings. It also came against a potential playoff foe; these two teams would meet in the first round if the season had ended Thursday. The loss dropped the Sixers (36-30) to seventh place, but three games now separate the fourth and eighth spots entering Friday.
And though Thursdayâs win gave the Bucks a 3-0 regular-season series sweep, two of those were played without Embiid, whom the Sixers remain hopeful would be back from knee surgery for a postseason matchup.
The Sixers surrendered control of the game in the fourth quarter, when Milwaukee staged a 16-3 run to take a 98-90 lead on a finish by Antetokounmpo (who also finished with 11 rebounds and seven assists) with less than six minutes to play. The Sixers cut the lead to 102-99 on a Tobias Harris pull-up jumper with 3:06 remaining, before another Antetokounmpo bucket pushed the Bucks (43-24) back ahead by two possessions. Damian Lillard followed with a baseline jumper, and Brook Lopez sank a three-pointer to make the score 109-101 with about a 1:08 left.
After failing to reach 80 points in two consecutive games at the New York Knicks, the Sixers shot 50% from the field, including 17-of-35 from three-point range. They also scored 23 points off 15 Bucks turnovers â an emphasis of coach Doc Rivers during his pregame news conference â though 17 of those points came in the first half.
Milwaukee used a three-point barrage â including a go-ahead bomb by former Sixer Patrick Beverley â to turn a double-digit third-quarter deficit into a 76-75 advantage. But Maxey answered with a driving finish, before a KJ Martin bucket and another Maxey score gave the Sixers the advantage back entering the final period.
The Sixers led by as many as 12 points in the first half, largely thanks to an 11-point burst by Payne in the second quarter. Milwaukee then closed the gap to 55-51 on a Jae Crowder three-pointer in the second quarterâs final minute, before a Maxey three-pointer and a Nico Batum jumper right before the buzzer gave the Sixers a 61-53 lead heading into the locker room.
» READ MORE: How Nick Nurse is imploring the Sixers to âfightâ while shorthanded
The Sixers return home for two games against the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday and Miami Heat on Monday, before embarking on a four-game Western Conference road trip to the Phoenix Suns (Wednesday), Los Angeles Lakers (March 22), Los Angeles Clippers (March 24), and Sacramento Kings (March 25).