Sixers Host The Bucks For The Second Time This Season

After four days off, the Philadelphia 76ers are back on the floor to host the Milwaukee Bucks for the second time on the young season but looking for a different result than the first.

The Sixers come into the game with a 7-7 record after defeating the Utah Jazz last Sunday behind Joel Embiid’s historic 59-point performance. The Bucks are 11-3 on the season, good for second place in the Eastern Conference trailing the conference-leading Boston Celtics. Tonight marks the second of four games this season between the two clubs. Milwaukee opened their season here in Philadelphia against the 76ers with a 90-88 road win, handing the Sixers their second consecutive loss to start the season after falling to the Celtics on opening night in Boston. All-Star James Harden led all scorers with 31 points, adding eight rebounds and nine rebounds in defeat. Giannis Antetokounmpo paced the visitors with 21, including a game-high 13 boards, eight assists, and another game-high of three blocks.

This was a game that featured a 13-point lead by the Bucks into the fourth quarter but saw the Sixers show resiliency and fight to not back down and just give the game away. Philadelphia fought back to eventually take a two-point, 86-84, lead with 1:43 to play courtesy of a Harden jumper assisted by Embiid. After the Bucks tied the game at 86 all, MIL had the ball after a PHI miss and Giannis missed a three-pointer, PJ Tucker grabbed the rebound and was fouled with just under 33 seconds.

The veteran free agent acquisition stepped to the line and made both to put the Sixers up two, but a mistake defensively by the 76ers allowed Wes Matthews to find an opening from distance, drilling the triple to put the Bucks back up by one with 24.7 seconds to play. The one shot you didn’t want to give to them. PHI had one more opportunity to tie or win the game, but a Harden baseline jumper failed to connect as MIL wins their opener. A tough one to start the home schedule.

 The Bucks started of the season 9-0, since then they are 2-3 in their last five games with two of their three losses coming on the road.