The last time that Tyrese Maxey played in Milwaukee, he scored a career-high 54 points. Tonight, he totaled 12 points, which was all the Philadelphia 76ers needed.
Philadelphia’s depth guided it to a 116-101 win against the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum on Friday night. The Bucks aimed to force anyone but Maxey to beat them and it gravely backfired as the 76ers had six players finish in double-digit scoring and tallied 61 bench points. While Philadelphia – playing its second game in 48 hours – allowed slippage in the second half, it has won three consecutive games.
Quentin Grimes and Paul George headlined the 76ers’ balanced scoring, finishing with 22 and 20 points respectively. Walker wasn’t far behind with a season-high 18 points on 5-10 shooting from the field while VJ Edgecombe notched 12 and Adem Bona contributed 10.
Philadelphia’s ball movement drastically improved from its fourth quarter against the Golden State Warriors on Thursday and no one benefited more than Grimes. The 76ers (13-9) constantly warped Milwaukee’s (10-14) defense with uptempo play, which yielded the guard many three-point chances. He shot 6-7 from beyond and created for others when called upon, finishing with five assists.
George was Philadelphia’s most impactful player, however. The 76ers immediately operated through him with the Bucks constantly sending two defenders at Maxey and it bore quality results. George feasted off the bounce, easily finding his spots within the arc, and created advantages for teammates out of actions. Although he has one steal to show for it, George was dominant defensively, with excellent help rotations and timely switches.
Eventually, the fatigue set in for Philadelphia as it saw Milwaukee cut its advantage to 10 points in the fourth quarter after enjoying a 26-point lead in the first half. But, the 76ers trusted their offensive process instead of reverting to isolation and had a victory to show for it.
Here’s how it went down:
1st Quarter
Milwaukee inched to an 11-9 lead five minutes into the first quarter, knocking down three of its first four three-point attempts. Kevin Porter Jr.’s rim pressure forced Philadelphia into rotation, creating perimeter opportunities. He recorded three assists in six minutes.
The 76ers’ offense wasn’t helpless, however.
The Bucks frequently blitzed Philadelphia’s pick-and-rolls, which George primarily ran early on. Milwaukee’s aggressive coverage unlocked Andre Drummond’s talent as a short-roll passer, as his extra passes were pivotal in the 76ers recording five assists on their first seven made field goals.
Philadelphia’s offense kept rolling, launching a 19-4 run to establish a 13-point lead with three minutes left in the fourth quarter. Without Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf), once Milwaukee’s shooting variance simmered, its offense sputtered. The 76ers forced six Bucks turnovers, with Maxey accounting for three, and turned them into 11 points.
Maxey’s perimeter defense and gravity allowed Philadelphia to dominate in transition, which helped it shoot 5-10 from beyond the arc in the frame. The 76ers entered the second quarter up 33-20, with no signs of slowing down.
2nd Quarter
Walker only added to Philadelphia’s shooting avalanche, converting his first four three-pointers en route to 14 points through 10 minutes. He made Milwaukee pay for its untimely closeouts as his fourth triple gave the 76ers an 18-point advantage three minutes into the frame. Between his spot-up shooting and rebounding, Walker continues to carve a consistent role in the 76ers’ rotation.
Philadelphia’s lone vice in this stretch was giving Bobby Portis the same treatment that the Bucks offered Walker. He notched 13 points on 3-5 shooting from downtown as the 76ers allowed him too much space from the top of the key.
But, it proved to be of little concern as George continued to dissect Milwaukee’s defense, this time with his shot creation. The Bucks lacked a wing that could defend him off the point-of-attack as Porter didn’t cut it. George bested Milwaukee with mid-range pull-up jumpshots and a spot-up three, finishing the first half with 11 points.
Kyle Lowry was also worth mentioning, logging six minutes in the period. He buried a three off the catch to polish a 16-4 76ers run. The veteran picked his spots well on both ends of the court and made the right decisions.
All of this culminated in Maxey attempting just five first-half field goals as Milwaukee routinely double-teamed him. Still, Philadelphia didn’t need his scoring talents, entering the locker room with a 69-49 lead and shooting 56.1% from the field.
3rd Quarter
Tired legs seemed to affect the 76ers early in the period as they missed nine of their first 11 shot attempts in the second half. But, the Bucks lacked the offensive firepower to take advantage and Philadelphia fended them off. Grimes found George in transition for a spot-up three as the 76ers maintained a 20-point edge midway into the frame.
Grimes didn’t stop there, nonetheless.
He tallied nine of his points in the frame, thriving as a play-finisher from beyond the arc and keeping the offense flowing as a secondary ball-handler. Jared McCain had quality moments as well, scoring off the dribble and creating a layup for Walker.
Milwaukee won the frame by four points and Philadelphia held a 93-77 advantage heading into the last 12 minutes – eerily similar to its third quarter against the Warriors.
4th Quarter
The 76ers continued to follow last night’s script as Portis hit a 19-foot jumper to cut their lead to eight points. Although Philadelphia’s offense died down, hitting two of its first 10 shots of the frame, it wasn’t because of poor execution. The 76ers were simply tired as they further navigated the fatigue that came with playing the second leg of a back-to-back.
That was until George took over.
He canned consecutive mid-range pull-ups to regain Philadelphia a double-digit lead that prevailed the rest of the way. George commanded the offense down the stretch, collapsing the Bucks’ defense to create a three for Edgecombe that essentially sealed the 76ers’ 13th win of the season.
The Bucks struggled to find offense down the stretch, scoring just four points in the last two minutes. Philadelphia clamped down, with help from George’s defensive versatility, as Milwaukee lacked a go-to scorer.
Just to be sure of a win, Grimes converted an and-one three that sent Milwaukee fans to the arena’s exits. Philadelphia kept its composure on both ends of the floor and is now a half-game behind for the fourth seed of the Eastern Conference as a result.
The 76ers will return to Xfinity Mobile Arena to battle the Los Angeles Lakers (16-6) on December 7th at 7:30 p.m. EST.