Rapid Recap: Bucks 109, Sixers 121

It certainly wasn’t pretty, and I don’t mean to put a bow on a pair of socks, but the Milwaukee Bucks battled back after a horrific game from Giannis Antetokounmpo and made it close late in a loss against the Philadelphia 76ers, 121-109. Hopefully Milwaukee learns from this loss and adapts come future matchups this season.

Both teams opened up the first quarter hot, but the Sixers pulled away in the latter stages to lead 38-30. Philadelphia continued their hot-shooting streak as the Bucks trailed 69-48 at halftime. The third quarter didn’t bring any merrier tidings, with Milwaukee being down 73-100 after three. The Bucks made a furious comeback towards the end, but it couldn’t prove enough in the end.

Giannis Antetokounmpo looked out of sorts the entire day, as the Sixers kept stripping him or Joel Embiid proved a fitting defensive foil at the rim. He finished with just 18 points, 14 boards and seven assists on only 8/27 shooting, the most misses in his career. Khris Middleton poured in 31 points, with plenty of triples late, while George Hill had 15 on the bench.

Joel Embiid was the standout guy for Philly from the jump, ending the game with 31 points and 11 rebounds in just 25 minutes. Tobias Harris followed it up with 22 points, Ben Simmons added 15 on 7/10 shooting with 14 assists and seven boards while Furkan Korkmaz added a big 16 off the bench.

Stat that Stood Out

The 3-point shooting, and there was no doubt about it. More importantly than the fact Philadelphia shot 21/44 (47.7%), is the fact they shot significantly more than the Bucks in this game, who went 13/33 (39.4%). Philly hasn’t shot nearly the same volume of triples as Milwaukee but they were ready and willing the whole game and it paid off for them handsomely.