3 observations after Sixers can’t capitalize on strong first half, lose to Bucks originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Sixers played a stellar first half Thursday night but couldn’t manage a bounce-back win at Fiserv Forum.
They suffered a 114-105 loss to the Bucks.
Tyrese Maxey posted 30 points, four assists and four rebounds.
Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded 32 points on 9-for-12 shooting, 11 boards and seven assists. Damian Lillard added 17 points and nine assists.
Joel Embiid (left knee meniscus procedure), De’Anthony Melton (lumbar spine bone stress) and Robert Covington (left knee bone bruise) were out for the 36-30 Sixers.
The 43-24 Bucks were down Khris Middleton, Malik Beasley and MarJon Beauchamp.
Thursday’s defeat was the Sixers’ fifth in their last six games. They dropped all three games of their regular-season series with the Bucks.
The Sixers will play the Hornets on Saturday night in Philadelphia. Here are observations on their loss to Milwaukee:
Harris better, though not clearly not good enough
Coming off a terrible two-point night Tuesday in the Sixers’ loss to the Knicks, Tobias Harris missed an early three-pointer and was the last Sixers starter to score.
He did tally a couple of assists in his opening stint, including a nice dish to set up a cutting Kyle Lowry for a layup.
The Sixers initially seemed more focused on involving Harris in their half-court offense. With the Bucks blitzing Maxey late in the first quarter, the Sixers went to the Maxey-Harris pick-and-roll a few plays in a row. The idea was solid — get Harris the ball in a 4-on-3 situation against an off-balance defense — but the Sixers kept coming up empty. Bobby Portis poked the ball away from Maxey, leading to a Pat Connaughton fast-break layup. Harris couldn’t hit a contested top-of-the-key three.
Defensively, Harris began the game on Antetokounmpo. KJ Martin was up next. The Sixers were generally diligent about sending help whenever Antetokounmpo drove downhill or handled the ball in transition. Paul Reed was especially active and agile as a help defender in the first half, setting a great tone for…
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