The Philadelphia 76ers knew what they were getting into on Christmas Day. They were hosting the league MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and the Milwaukee Bucks who entered the game with the best record in the NBA. It was not going to be easy, but the Sixers stepped up to the challenge.
They put on a dominant effort leading by as many as 29 on their way to a 121-109 win over the Bucks as they made a bit of a statement. A big factor in their win was containing Antetokounmpo as he shot just 8-for-27 from the floor in order to get his 18 points.
Al Horford, who defended Antetokounmpo in the playoffs while a member of the Boston Celtics, and Joel Embiid led the way in defending him. They both used their smarts and their skill in order to bother him and make life tough for him.
“It’s tough, he’s very gifted,” said Horford. “It’s one of those things that you need the defense to be loaded up, because one-on-one, you’re not going to fare very well. Even though Joel did an unbelievable job one-on-one and him taking the challenge, it was great to see.”
The thing that stood about Antetokounmpo’s game has been him beginning to knock down the 3-point shot, but he couldn’t find the range as he was a ghastly 0-for-7 from deep.
“Jo really stepped up to the plate and was great,” Horford added. “Contesting his threes because Giannis has been shooting threes, he has been making them, we were aware of that. We were just very mindful of him. The rest of our guys were doing a great job of making sure that they were helping myself or Joel when we needed it.”
Some of it was him missing open looks, but a lot of it was the Sixers forcing him into some tough shots.
“I was just doing my best to stay in front of him,” said Embiid. “He’s just so gifted, he’s fast and he’s extremely athletic. I was just using my length as much as I could.”
The Sixers brought in Horford for games like this one. To be able to match up with the Bucks with all of their length with Antetokounmpo and how good and dynamic he can be. The Sixers made a bit of a statement in that sense with this win.
“It was certainly on our mind,” said coach Brett Brown. “There were lots of other parts to that, but how do you beat Milwaukee was certainly a part of all the discussions. Tonight, those two were very good and with Al, it was a very big part of our discussion when we brought him in.”
Philadelphia will now look to avoid a letdown when they hit the road on Friday to face the Orlando Magic to kick off a four-game road trip. [lawrence-related id=22128,22119,22105]