The road trip continues for the 76ers (40-22) – third in the Eastern Conference – with a Saturday showdown against the top-ranked Milwaukee Bucks (45-17), who currently own an NBA season-best 16-game winning streak.
It’s the third of four games in the season series, with each team taking a game in South Philadelphia. In addition to Saturday’s game, the meeting on April 2 will also take place in Milwaukee.
Joel Embiid put up a game-high 32 points with 11 rebounds, a game-high eight assists, and three blocked shots in a 110-102 Sixers’ win on Nov. 18.
The Bucks have been off since Wednesday, a 139-117 home win over the Orlando Magic. Milwaukee connected on 26 3-pointers (26-56, .464) and Giannis Antetokounmpo led all scorers with 31 points (10-14 fg, 3-4 3fg, 8-10 ft). Khris Middleton (right knee injury management) and Wesley Matthews (right calf strain) did not play.
Antetokounmpo averages 31.3 points and 12.0 rebounds per contest. After hosting the Sixers, the Bucks will complete a home-road back-to-back at Washington on Sunday evening.
Matthews is out again Saturday, while Philadelphia’s Dewayne Dedmon (left hip soreness) was listed as questionable on the Friday night injury report.
The Sixers fell to the Mavericks in Dallas, 133-126, on Thursday night in the latter portion of a road back-to-back after winning in Miami. Luka Dončić (game-high 42 points, 7-13 3fg), Kyrie Irving (40 points, 6-8 3fg), and the Mavs shot 25-for-48 (.521) from 3-point range. Their 25 threes matched a franchise record.
Tyrese Maxey, who scored 22 of his 29 points for the Sixers in the second half, was part of the starting lineup for the second straight game.
“We just wanted a quick start,” 76ers Head Coach Doc Rivers said postgame. “We felt that if we could get off to a quick start then we would be great. We did offensively, we just couldn’t get stops… It’s amazing – we shot 57-percent and it really wasn’t in a lot of transition because they scored almost every time. Whenever we did get stops, that’s when we made the run in the fourth quarter.”
Trailing by as many as 25 points late in the third quarter, the Sixers cut the deficit to just four (110-106) on a Maxey jumper with 9:22 left in regulation.
James Harden – the top assist man in the NBA at 10.6 assists per game – led the way with 13 dimes.
“For me, I just try to make the game easy for everybody,” Harden said. “Whether it’s Joel [Embiid], whether it’s a shooter, that’s my job. Of course I want to get our shooters more shots. That is what’s going to make our team a lot better.”
Both the Sixers and Bucks boast a 3.9 net rating, fifth-best in the league.
Saturday is an 8:30 p.m. Eastern start.
Thursday’s Top Performances:
Joel Embiid
Tyrese Maxey
James Harden
De’Anthony Melton
Tobias Harris
76ers vs. Dallas Mavericks: Mar. 2, 2023
1 / 5DALLAS, TX - MARCH 2: Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers drives to the basket during the game against the Dallas Mavericks on March 2, 2023 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
@Sixers Social:
Quote to Note:
Dallas Mavericks Head Coach Jason Kidd:
“In this league right now, everybody’s scoring and you’re talking about one of the best teams - in Philly. I thought again we did our best with [Joel] Embiid and he still ended up with 35. That’s how good he is. So this is big for us after the last two, but again we still have a long way to go.”