3 observations: Giannis Antetokounmpo, hot shooting Bucks get past Sixers
The Philadelphia 76ers had a tough challenge on Thursday night. They were coming off two straight home losses, including one on Wednesday, and then had to board a plane to face the well-rested Milwaukee Bucks on the road. On top of that, they were still shorthanded as they were missing Ben Simmons in this one.
All of that mixed together caused for a tough night as the Bucks, led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, knocked off Philadelphia 124-117 at home in a game that was not as close as the score suggests. Antetokounmpo had 27 points with 14 rebounds and six assists for the Bucks and Milwaukee shot 20-for-40 from deep as a team as they just had more energy than the Sixers in this one.
Joel Embiid had 24 points on 9-for-21 shooting to lead Philadelphia, Tobias Harris had 18 points and six assists in his return, Shake Milton had 20 points, Seth Curry had 11, and Tyrese Maxey added 11 and four assists with Mike Scott adding 11.
Here are the three observations from the loss:
Paging Ben Simmons
The team missed Simmons in a lot of ways in this one. They needed somebody to step up and not allow such easy dribble penetration against a long Bucks team and they struggled to do that on Thursday. Milwaukee went up 10-0 early and they made their first 10 shots as they did not have to deal with too much resistance from Philadelphia’s defense when they were able to get into the paint and make plays. They attracted the defense and then kicked it out to open shooters. While guys like George Hill and Danny Green are accomplished defenders and Harris has taken steps forward, they are not Simmons and they missed him sorely in this one. A reason for the Bucks getting so many open looks could be due to an advantage in rest. Milwaukee had not played since April 19 while the Sixers played a tough game on Wednesday and then had to board a plane and head to Milwaukee for this game. The schedule makers were not kind to the Sixers in this situation.
Bench providing a spark
For probable the fatigue reason, as mentioned, the Sixers starters just did not have it in this one to start this game. Milwaukee led by 20 in the opening quarter and coach Doc Rivers had to turn to the bench quickly. Milton and Maxey gave the team a bit of a spark as the Sixers got as close as 11 a few times keeping Philadelphia within striking distance. It was good to see Milton have a strong game considering how much he has been struggling as of late. Even Scott provided some good production off the bench while knocking down the 3-ball which is something the team expects out of him. When Scott has time to set his feet and knock down a shot, then he turns into a really solid bench piece for this team. They missed Furkan Korkmaz’s ability to get hot in this one as well.
Embiid fatigue
The No. 1 seed is absolutely important and it should be on the mind of the Sixers, but they need to give the big fella a night off. As incredible as Embiid is, the Sixers should have their eyes on the postseason and making sure he is healthy and ready to go for when the games matter the most in May and June. He admitted that he is not in the best physical shape Wednesday after the loss to the Suns and he looked a little fatigued in this one. He was settling for a lot of jumpers and he was not attacking the basket as aggressively as he normally does. He also looked a little slow defensively, although he did have a terrific defensive possession against Jrue Holiday and he did have a big block on Giannis Antetokounmpo, when considering all that Embiid has done this season, he deserves a night off in the middle of what has been a hectic scheduling stretch. Maybe not on Saturday for the second game against the Bucks, but maybe on Monday when they return home to face the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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