FILE PHOTO Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks in action against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena on March 15, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 27 points, 16 rebounds and six assists to lift the host Milwaukee Bucks past the Philadelphia 76ers 124-117 on Thursday.
Khris Middleton added 24 points, Bobby Portis had 23 and Brook Lopez 16 for the Bucks, who snapped a two-game losing streak.
Jrue Holiday had 12 points and 11 assists for the Bucks, who improved to 36-22.
The Bucks, who made 20 treys on 40 attempts, will host the Sixers again on Saturday.
Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons (illness) missed Tuesday’s 116-113 home loss to the Phoenix Suns and did not travel to Milwaukee. Reserve Furkan Korkmaz also sat out after tweaking his ankle against the Suns.
Joel Embiid led the Sixers (39-20) with 24 points, Shake Milton added 20 and Tobias Harris had 18 in his first game back after missing the previous three with knee soreness. Seth Curry, Tyrese Maxey and Mike Scott contributed 11 each.
The Sixers have dropped three in a row.
The Bucks hit their first 10 shots of the game, bolted to a 20-point advantage and led 77-60 at halftime. Milwaukee dropped in 13 of 21 3-pointers and was led by Middleton with 21 points on 9-for-11 shooting. Embiid paced the Sixers with 17 at the break.
The Sixers closed within 81-70 after Embiid made 1 of 2 free throws with 9:19 left in the third quarter.
Milwaukee responded with the next five points to quickly extend its lead back to 16.
Philadelphia cut the deficit to 94-85 late in the third, but the Bucks finished strong and held a 108-87 advantage at the end of the quarter. Portis scored the last nine points on three 3-pointers to help build the 21-point lead.
Milton hit a jumper and Maxey made a tough layup for the Sixers to open the fourth.
But with Embiid on the bench, the Bucks still led 122-107 with 5:01 remaining in the fourth.
The Sixers struggled with their offensive rhythm over the next few minutes, but managed to close within 122-110 when Maxey converted a three-point play with 2:44 left.
A late 14-1 Sixers run closed them within six, 123-117, in the waning seconds.
–Field Level Media