The loss of Giannis Antetokounmpo for the Milwaukee Bucks was too much to overcome a nearly healthy Philadelphia 76ers team, losing 123-114 in overtime. This was Philly’s first win over the Bucks since March 4, 2023. It’s also just the sixth win for the 76ers over Milwaukee in the last 24 games, dating back to the 2018-19 season. Read our full summary of the game here and catch a six-minute audio recap on the Bucks+ podcast, Bucks In Six Minutes, below.
28 minutes, 14 points, 10 rebounds, 5/13 FG, 3/9 3PT, +1
What really drags down the grade is the low offensive efficiency. I thought Turner looked much better on defense, especially when the Bucks went back to their 2-3 zone look against Philly. If the Bucks are going to survive this Giannis-less stretch, Turner is going to continue to have to step up in these moments.
40 minutes, 32 points, 14 assists, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, 3 turnovers, 13/26 FG, 2/8 3PT, 4/4 FT, -15
Rollins continues to rise to the occasion whenever he is called upon. He led the scoring column while having to guard Tyrese Maxey for most of the night. While Maxey did go for a career-high 54 points, hardly any of the blame can go on Rollins’ shoulders. If he can keep this up, the Bucks may have a potential two-way All-Star guard on their hands.
38 minutes, 17 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 3 turnovers, 6/14 FG, 0/3 3PT, 5/7 FT, +1
The Bucks got both ends of the Kyle Kuzma spectrum last night. Kuzma had a solid stretch in the third quarter, scoring seven straight for the Bucks to boost their lead. Yet, the lack of a three-point shot is really holding him back from having a bigger impact. Solid again, but if he could’ve hit one of those threes, it might’ve changed the outcome of this game.
36 minutes, 9 points, 6 rebounds, 3/5 3PT, -3
For all the talk of Green’s improvement on the defensive end, and there has been some, his lack of athleticism is always going to hinder him to a degree. There were several plays where he was blown by for easy transition layups.
38 minutes, 11 points, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 4/10 FG, 3/7 3PT, +5
For the first time in what seems like forever, Trent had a positive plus/minus. Gary hit some threes, but he really couldn’t get anything else going offensively. The Bucks need him to break out of this funk and be closer to the player who had those two tremendous games against Indiana in the playoffs.
28 minutes, 19 points, 8 rebounds, 9/14 FG, 1/1 3PT, -16
Portis was the fifth starter with Giannis sidelined and performed admirably, serving as a scoring factor and release valve. There were a few dumb shots, and his defensive issues are definite drawbacks. Yet, the fact that he was pressed into service with Giannis out and scoring nearly 20 points, I can’t grade much lower than this.
21 minutes, 5 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds, 4 turnovers, 2/7 FG, 1/2 3PT, -6
I don’t typically like to pile on a player, but Kevin Porter Jr. can’t come back soon enough. Anthony has become a frustrating watch because you see the positives in his game, only to be reminded of the downsides. Last night alone, he had just under a 2:1 assist-to-turnover ratio; being the backup point guard, he must be better than that.
20 minutes, 3 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1/1 3PT, -3
Harris was decent enough with what he was asked to do. I would’ve maybe liked to see a bit more aggressiveness in his shooting with the limited touches he got, but he was smart when he did have the ball.
16 minutes, 4 points, 3 rebounds, 1 block, 2/2 FG, -9
Sims did a decent job in his minutes. He rebounded, played solid defense, and scored the way he usually does: dunking it. Not much else you could expect out of the third-string, undersized center with the team’s star player injured.
The major decision that affected this grade was choosing Bobby Portis over Myles Turner to close in overtime. While he did explain he decided to place a movement shooter out there, it makes little sense to sit your $30m center in those moments. That’s not to say the Bucks would’ve won this game had Turner played all of overtime, but it’s another head-scratching decision by Rivers in a string of those.
DNP-CD: Amir Coffey, Andre Jackson Jr., Mark Sears, Thanasis Antetokounmpo
Inactive: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Porter Jr., Taurean Prince, Alex Antetokounmpo
- The Bucks let this game slip away. Milwaukee was up by two points with 14 seconds left in the fourth after a big three from Turner. Doc Rivers talked about how his team not only missed using their foul to give before Maxey got to the rim and was fouled, but the final offensive play when Rollins took a fading three:
“We had a foul to give, and we didn’t execute it. To me, that’s the difference in the game. They executed the foul to give, we didn’t, and we lost. On the first action, if they didn’t commit it, Kuz would’ve been open; the second action we didn’t execute again. I thought we played unbelievably. I thought we played hard overall, but our execution tonight—and I get it, that we had different guys—but some of them we just have to do it (play them). The play (after Philly’s foul) was supposed to be an iso for Ryan coming up, but instead, someone was there setting a pick. It’s just tough to watch sometimes.”
- Rollins talked about the learning experience it was for him to be in that situation to take the final shot of a game:
“I for sure could’ve gotten a better shot than that. I think that’s a growing point for me, just being in that situation for the first time, just learning from it. I know I could’ve for sure got a better shot, just slow it down and got to my rhythm shot, or [Gary Trent Jr.] was wide open in the corner; even when I got to that situation, I could’ve kicked to him for the open shot, but live and learn from the experience.
- If you live online like I do, you might have seen that the Pacers took a jab at Myles Turner during their win over the Charlotte Hornets. On their jumbotron, they pointed out that Isaiah Jackson had recorded his third double-double of the season, while Turner hadn’t done that in Milwaukee yet. That is no longer the case, as Turner picked up his first Milwaukee Bucks double-double.
- Ryan Rollins picked up his second career double-double last night and is the 19th player in Bucks history to record a 30+ point double-double with assists.
- The Bucks are now 1-2 when Giannis sits this season.
Things won’t get easier for the Bucks, as they have the top team in the Eastern Conference coming to town in the Detroit Pistons, who have won 11 in a row. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Central on Saturday at Fiserv Forum. If you can’t make it to the game, you can watch on either FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin or NBA TV.
