Sixers at Bucks: Giannis Antetokounmpo Stars in Wire-To-Wire Milwaukee Win

3 observations after Sixers suffer a wire-to-wire loss to Bucks originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Bucks blitzed the Sixers early and never trailed Sunday night in a convincing win.

With their 117-104 victory at Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee split the regular-season series against the Sixers and moved to 56-22. The Bucks are now two games ahead of the second-seeded Celtics in the Eastern Conference standings. 

The Sixers fell to 51-27. Their magic number to clinch a top-three seed remains at one ahead of a matchup Tuesday night against Boston at Wells Fargo Center.  

Giannis Antetokounmpo was typically stellar for the Bucks, recording 33 points on 13-for-17 shooting, 14 rebounds, six assists and three blocks.

Tyrese Maxey scored 29 points and Joel Embiid had 28. 

The Sixers were at full strength. Milwaukee was down Thanasis Antetokounmpo (suspended) and Meyers Leonard (left calf soreness). Grayson Allen exited in the third quarter because of a right ankle sprain and did not return. 

Here are observations on the Sixers' loss Sunday:

Sixers fall into massive hole 

The Bucks made literally every shot they took early.

The Sixers allowed a couple of transition baskets inside, but Milwaukee did almost all of its damage on the perimeter. The Bucks got long twos to go from Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton, had a scorching start behind the arc, and opened 8 for 8 overall. Their first miss was a Middleton layup attempt … which Lopez grabbed and immediately put in the hoop.

Threes by Joe Ingles and Lopez gave Milwaukee a 29-13 lead after just six minutes and change. While much of the Bucks’ shotmaking wasn’t a byproduct of the defense doing anything egregiously wrong, the Sixers’ inability to stop Milwaukee before facing such a large deficit was still disappointing. The Bucks were well-rested and locked in after a 41-point loss Thursday to the Celtics. 

Embiid had one of the Sixers’ few positive moments on defense in the first quarter, blocking a short Middleton jumper, but that play failed to swing momentum. De’Anthony Melton couldn’t capitalize on the ensuing transition opportunity, missing an open layup. Against top opponents like Milwaukee in the playoffs, the Sixers obviously won’t want to squander those sorts of chances. Ultimately, the Sixers’ defense didn’t negate any of the Bucks’ options in the first quarter, which meant the team’s margin of error was slim for the rest of the game. 

Embiid posted half of the Sixers’ 26 first-period points, scoring smoothly in the mid-range. Lopez is an excellent defender, but it looks like James Harden-Embiid pick-and-rolls would yield plenty of good mid-range shots for Embiid in a Sixers-Bucks playoff series. Besides that, very little about the Sixers’ start was encouraging. 

Maxey's elite shooting 

The second quarter provided more legitimate positives.

Paul Reed picked up a couple of offensive rebounds, made a crafty lefty layup, and held his own with Antetokounmpo playing backup center minutes for the Bucks. Harden also began the second well against Jae Crowder’s tight defense, hitting a tough runner and a three.

However, Harden couldn’t keep rolling like he had in Friday’s home win over the Raptors. Crowder and Jrue Holiday effectively fought through screens and refused to let the Sixers get the switches they sought out, leaving quite a few possessions entirely dependent on Harden late in the shot clock. Holiday twice stole the ball from Harden, leading to easy Antetokounmpo fast-break buckets. With 1:11 left in the second, Harden picked up his third foul and headed to the bench. 

After averaging 22.7 points and sinking 51.3 percent of his threes in March, Maxey’s jumper remained exceptionally pure on a 6-for-7 night from long range. His knack for scoring bursts is one reason the Sixers have been quite confident this season that they can come back in almost any situation. In between a pair of third-quarter corner threes, Maxey impressively swiped the ball from Antetokounmpo as the two-time MVP steamed forward on a fast break, then jetted off the other way and drew two free throws. The Sixers cut their deficit to four points in the third quarter on an Embiid mid-range jumper. 

Maxey is bound to have some off shooting games in the playoffs, but his odds of contributing series-shifting performances appear even a bit better than last year. The 22-year-old has learned more about how to counter physical defense, honed his step-back and deep threes, and gained a better sense of when the Sixers require all-out aggression. 

Key bench decisions coming soon 

Embiid subbed out late in the third quarter after being called for his fourth foul and Antetokounmpo took the game over.

He made an and-one jumper against Reed, attacked relentlessly, and dunked on Jalen McDaniels to build the Bucks' lead back to 14 points. P.J. Tucker also didn't have much luck throughout the night against his former teammate. 

Early in the fourth, Bobby Portis went at Georges Niang and scored over him without any trouble. Portis notched 18 points Sunday on 8-for-11 shooting. Niang played 17 scoreless minutes. Though Niang made pivotal threes in the Sixers' comeback win over Milwaukee on March 4, he's clearly a significantly worse player when he's not draining jumpers and won't be well-suited for every potential playoff matchup.  

Danuel House Jr. and Shake Milton were not part of the Sixers' initial nine-man rotation. House checked in for McDaniels early in the fourth and was ready to fire, knocking down two corner threes. He also had a nice possession against Antetokounmpo in isolation and later took a charge on the Greek Freak. 

To Sixers head coach Doc Rivers' credit, his instincts on when to trust rotation regulars and when to turn elsewhere have generally been strong this season. Those decisions will be closely scrutinized in the postseason.