Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers is defended by Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks during the first half of a game at Fiserv Forum on February 17, 2022 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Stacy Revere/Getty Images/AFP
Joel Embiid scored 42 points and the Philadelphia 76ers survived the Bucks’ second-half comeback to win 123-120 at Milwaukee on Thursday night.
The 76ers snapped a six-game losing streak against their Eastern Conference rivals that dated back to the 2019-20 season.
Embiid hit 14 of 21 shots and added 14 rebounds to help the 76ers get back on track after a 48-point loss to the Boston Celtics on Tuesday. Tobias Harris chipped in 19 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Tyrese Maxey also had 19 points, and Georges Niang tallied 18.
Philadelphia led by as much as 15 in the third quarter before the Bucks shaved the deficit down to seven by the start of the fourth.
WHAT. A. BATTLE.
Joel Embiid 🤝 Giannis Antetokounmpo#PhantomCam pic.twitter.com/awTS0DURlh
— NBA (@NBA) February 18, 2022
Milwaukee took a 111-109 lead with 5:47 left when Jrue Holiday hit a 3-pointer, but the 76ers kept their composure and outscored the Bucks 14-9 to close the game.
Khris Middleton had a chance to send the game to overtime, but he missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer at the final buzzer.
Giannis Antetokounmpo paced Milwaukee with 32 points (on 13-of-23 shooting) plus 11 rebounds and nine assists. Holiday added 24 points, Middleton contributed 19, Jordan Nwora recorded 18 and Bobby Portis had 17.
The Bucks kept things close thanks to their ball security, as they committed just seven turnovers.
After trailing by 12 with 4:56 left in the second quarter, the Sixers went on a 28-8 run to close the half, sending them into halftime with a 69-61 edge. Maxey exploded during the surge, scoring 14 of his 16 first-half points. Embiid led all scorers before the break with 22 points.
Nwora had 13 points in the half and Antetokounmpo and Portis both added 12 to keep the Bucks within single digits. Milwaukee did a good portion of its work at the charity stripe, sinking 13 of 16 (81.2 percent) free throws.
Embiid and Harris provided nearly all of Philadelphia’s early offense, scoring 22 of the team’s 24 first-quarter points. Despite the duo’s dominance, the Bucks closed the frame on an 8-0 run to jump out to a 27-24 lead.