MILWAUKEE — When Joe Ingles’ heave clanked off the back of the rim just before the first-quarter buzzer, the crowd inside Fiserv Forum let out a collective groan.
Why wouldn’t the home fans think that desperation shot would swish through the net? Nearly every other Bucks shot had connected in the initial 12 minutes against the 76ers, which Milwaukee rode to a comfortable 117-104 victory Sunday night in an anticipated matchup of two Eastern Conference contenders.
The loss dropped the Sixers (51-27) three games behind the Boston Celtics, who they host Tuesday, in the Eastern Conference playoff standings with four regular-season games to play.
Joel Embiid (28 points, nine rebounds, five assists) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (33 points, 14 rebounds, six assists, three blocks) both filled the box score in the battle between Most Valuable Player contenders. But Antetokounmpo’s team came out looking like it wanted to atone for Thursday’s blowout loss to the Celtics.
The Sixers, though, briefly made a second-half push. They outscored the Bucks 20-8 to begin the third quarter including an Embiid jumper that cut his team’s deficit to 77-73 with about four minutes to play in the period.
But Bobby Portis (18 points on 8-of-11 shooting) answered with a three-pointer, before Ingles later buried another deep shot that extended Milwaukee’s lead back to 85-75 at the 2:52 mark of the frame and Antetokounmpo made the score 96-82 with a thunderous slam just before the buzzer.
Tyrese Maxey led the Sixers with 29 points (including 6-of-7 from three-point distance) and four rebounds. Bucks All-Star point guard Jrue Holiday scored 13 of his 18 points in the first half and added four steals against his former team, fueling a night when Milwaukee scored 13 fast-break points and 21 points off 11 Sixers turnovers.
Following Tuesday’s marquee showdown against Boston, the Sixers will play their regular-season home finale Thursday against the Miami Heat. Then, they finish out the regular season at the Atlanta Hawks Friday night and at the Brooklyn Nets (their likely first-round playoff opponent) on April 9.
Rough start
A routine 18-foot jumper by Brook Lopez ignited a torrid offensive start for the Bucks.
They rapidly built a 31-15 first half lead by making their first eight shots and then 12 of their first 13 attempts — and the only misfire (a Khris Middleton layup) was collected and laid in by Lopez. Milwaukee finished the first quarter making 16 of their 23 shots (including 5-of-6 from beyond the arc) to lead by as many as 18 points.
James Harden got the Sixers within 10 when his floater made the score 43-33, but Portis answered with a jumper and later hit a three-pointer that pushed the Bucks’ lead back to 16 points. That advantage ballooned to 20, at 61-41, when Antetokounmpo found an open Lopez under the basket for a one-handed dunk about five minutes before the break.
Nine-man rotation
As coach Doc Rivers continues to solidify his playoff rotation, nine Sixers played meaningful minutes Sunday. Shake Milton was not part of that group, and Danuel House Jr. (10 points) did not play until the game was out of hand in the fourth quarter.
Backup center Paul Reed was arguably the most effective reserve, finishing with eight points on 4-of-5 shooting and 10 rebounds (five offensive) and spending stretches guarding Antetokounmpo. De’Anthony Melton, Georges Niang, and Jalen McDaniels, meanwhile, were a combined 1-of-11 from the floor.
Those struggles came two nights after the Sixers’ bench was instrumental in building a big first-half lead in Friday’s win over the Toronto Raptors.
