The Philadelphia 76ers played the first game of a weekend back-to-back against the Milwaukee Bucks Friday night. After four days of rest following their win against the Utah Jazz, the Sixers were ready for their next opponent. The Bucks, meanwhile, came into Friday’s contest after a win against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Bucks had control of the game for the entire first half and looked like they would seize control once Tyrese Maxey went down. The Sixers stormed out the gates in the second half and fought hard for a victory. Philadelphia defeated Milwaukee 110-102 behind 32 points, 11 rebounds, and 8 assists from Joel Embiid. Take a look at three takeaways from the clash between the Sixers and Bucks:
Injury Issues Afoot
The Sixers were already without James Harden (foot) and Furkan Korkmaz (knee) coming into tonight, and Tobias Harris became a late scratch with hip soreness against the Bucks. Unfortunately, during the later stages of the second quarter, Tyrese Maxey rolled his ankle/foot and left the game, and didn’t return.
Maxey was putting together a heck of a game before his we injured, tallying 24 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds. The Sixers’ depth was tested tonight and will be tested with their starting backcourt out for an undetermined amount of time. Maybe the Sixers look to sign a free-agent guard on a non-guaranteed deal, but regardless of what they do, they will miss Maxey.
EMVPIID IS BACK
After a much-maligned early start of the season, Joel Embiid seems to be rounding back into MVP form. Embiid has 133 points combined in the last three games, putting the Sixers on his back from a scoring point of view. Something underrated about his play that has stood out during this stretch is his passing, which has been phenomenal.
Embiid has averaged 7.3 assists in his last three contests, helping to pick up some of the playmaking slack with James Harden out with injury. Embiid has also played much better on defense these last few games, meeting players at the rim and giving it his all during the entire game and not just the 4th quarter. With Harden out and Tyrese Maxey joining the injured list, the MVP version of Embiid will need to continue to show up every night.
The Minivan Keeps Moving
Georges Niang‘s play has been one of the recent bright spots for the Sixers’ bench. He has provided much-needed spacing and a quick trigger three that Joel Embiid and James Harden trust. More recently, he has stepped up and provided a scoring punch off the bench, with each three he hits feeling like it’s a momentum shifter. Against the Bucks, Niang has 17 points and was 4-8 from three, with every one of those points needed without Harden, Harris, or Maxey playing. Niang has put himself right back in the middle of the rotation and could continue to see his role get bigger if he keeps making shots.
