The following notes and nuggets were taken from the 76ers’ January 29th 107-95 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Click here for a complete recap of the game, and be sure to check out our post-game pod below:
Bonus Points:
• Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot enjoyed a quick start Monday. Within two and a half minutes of play, he had tallied six of the Sixers’ first 10 points, matching his output from the previous night in Oklahoma City. The Frenchman used a pair of driving lay-ups to get himself going, then tacked on two free throws. From there, however, he was kept out of the scoring column for the rest of the night.
• Against the Bucks, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot continued a stretch of productive facilitating. He handed out a career-best 5 assists the evening before versus the Thunder, and finished with 3 dimes at the Bucks.
• Very much literally, the farther removed Justin Anderson gets from the shin splint injury that kept him on the shelf for over a month, the more involved he gets. At BMO Harris Bradley Center, the Sixers turned to the third-year wingman about as early as we’ve seen this season, bringing him in at the eight-minute mark of the first quarter. Anderson proceeded to score right away on a driving lay-up, and was subsequently called upon to help guard Giannis Antetokounmpo. The 24-year old played a season-high 24 minutes Monday, and notched 10 points (4-7 fg) for his third double-digit outing in the Sixers’ last four games.
• Prior to Monday’s tip, Justin Anderson and his former UVA teammate Malcolm Brogdon, the reigning Rookie of the Year, made time for an on-court catch-up.
• Checking in on Dario Saric, he reached double-figures for a 27th consecutive contest, thanks to a 19-point showing against Milwaukee. His streak is tied for 21st-longest among all NBA players this season.
• Midway through Monday’s first quarter, Dario Saric strung together an impressive flurry, using a hook shot, running floater, and pair of free throws to score 6 points in less than 40 seconds. The spurt, which increased the Sixers’ lead to 10 points, came largely at the expense of Khris Middleton, the latest Eastern Conference Player of the Week award recipient. After that, the Bucks adjusted, putting Giannis Antetokounmpo on Saric for much of the rest of the first half.
• Count Richaun Holmes among the reserves whose involvement increased on a night the Sixers were shorthanded. Down Joel Embiid, Holmes was thrust into frontcourt duty midway through Monday’s first quarter. He went on to play nearly 22 minutes, after receiving 13 combined minutes of action in the Sixers’ previous seven games as a result of coach’s decisions and illness.
• All six of Richaun Holmes’ field goals Monday were of the slamming variety. Within that subset, each of his first four dunks featured him diving to the rack, with the first three of the bunch derived from pick-and-roll action (including Holmes’ sweet finish on this side pick-and-roll set he ran with Robert Covington).
According to stats.nba.com, Holmes has attempted 34 dunks on the season, converting all but three. The site also has the big man as being used as a roll man on 21.3 percent of his possessions played, by far the highest rate of any Sixer.
• With 13 points Monday, Richaun Holmes posted double-digits for the first time since matching his season-high of 15 points December 21st against Toronto. On the year, Holmes has scored in double-figures on nine separate occasions.
• For a second straight game, the Sixers found themselves trailing on the scoreboard heading after three periods of play. Prior to this stretch, the team hadn’t faced a deficit at the start of the fourth quarter for six consecutive contests, and were down through three only twice in a span of 16 games dating back to December 19th.
• While perhaps not quite as extensive as those pertaining to the Sixers, Milwaukee had its own noteworthy injury issues to deal with Monday. Starting two-guard Eric Bledsoe, who ranks third on the Bucks with an average 16.9 points per game, exited the game after two and a half minutes because of a sore left ankle, and didn’t return for the rest of the night.
• Although the Sixers endured a 2 for 26 night from beyond the arc, they did have success generating points off two-point jumpers. The Sixers don’t encourage the shot, but Monday, without Joel Embiid, Brett Brown was willing to take whatever he could get.
“I’m told we actually shot 62% on long twos, which we weren’t thrilled about taking, but we made them.”
• Brett Brown was happy with the Sixers’ performance from the free throw line. They missed just twice on 23 opportunities, with Robert Covington and Dario Saric leading the way, going 6 for 6 and 5 for 5 from the stripe, respectively. The Sixers entered Monday a 76.5 percent free throw team, which was good for 16th in the NBA.