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The Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks started the NBA slate on Sunday. The Bucks dominated in coach Doc Rivers’ return to Philly. Milwaukee took the lead in the first quarter and never trailed again on the way to a 119-98 road win.
As usual, Giannis Antetokunmpo was the star for Milwaukee. He had plenty of space to operate down low with the absence of Joel Embiid.
The Greek Freak finished just shy of a triple-double with 30 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists. He shot 10 of 17 and was the game’s leading scorer.
Bobby Portis was a spark plug off the bench for Milwaukee. He hit three 3-pointers on his way to 17 points. Damian Lillard added 24 points, and Malik Beasley was on fire from deep going 6 of 7 from the 3-point line for 20 total points.
Tyrese Maxey led a poor shooting Sixers squad with 24 points on 8-of-19 shooting. Philly hit just 37.1% of its shots and went 34.8% from downtown. Five Sixers reached double figures with only Maxey eclipsing the 20-point mark.
Despite the blowout, the Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks game had plenty of highlights. Here are the top five from Sunday afternoon’s game between the Eastern Conference contenders.
Top five plays from Philadelphia 76ers vs. Milwaukee Bucks: Sunday, Feb. 25
These are five highlights from the Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks game on Sunday. The Bucks blew out their East rivals 119-98.
#5, Paul Reed shows off the range
Early in the first quarter, the Sixers still had hope. Maxey found big man Paul Reed on a pick-and-pop with a behind-the-back pass. Reed showed off his range by drilling a deep, rainbow 3-pointer. Reed has carried a larger load with Embiid’s injury. He finished the game with 13 points and eight rebounds.
#4, Sixers off to the races
Maxey once again showed his quickness and defensive prowess. Early in the second quarter Maxey picked the pocket of the Bucks and tossed it ahead to Buddy Hield for a fastbreak. Hield easily finished the wide-open layup after the great pass from Maxey to cut into the Bucks lead.
#3, Greek freak hits a circus layup and-1
Up 12 in the fourth, Pat Connaughton found Giannis Antetokoiunmpo under the hoop. Antetokounmpo then went up-and-under for a reverse layup high off the glass. He finished it off through the contact for the and-1 as he fell to the floor for the fancy finish.
#2, Dame from deep
Damian Lillard was back on it on Sunday. He hit four 3-pointers, including a deep one late in the fourth to cap the win. Lillard swished a pure jumper from the side logo near the coaches box to rub salt in the Sixers’ wounds late in the game.
#1, Giannis Antetokounmpo goes Patrick Mahomes
Giannis showed off the arm and quarterback skills for the top highlight of the day. He threw a full-court inbounds pass on a rope to Brook Lopex to beat the halftime buzzer. Lopez dunked it home for the easy finish after the gorgeous pass to pad Milwaukee’s lead going into the break.
