MILWAUKEE — To pull off a comeback as the visiting Philadelphia 76ers did against the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night, a team has to buckle down and get defensive stops.
After struggling badly to do so in the third quarter, the Sixers did so in the fourth, fueling the 18-point rally to knock off the Bucks, 133-130.
Joel Embiid was assigned to Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo and helped hold him to 3-for-8 shooting in the fourth quarter. Antetokounmpo got to the free-throw line often and he made 12 of his attempts, but Embiid did a terrific job bothering him in the final stanza.
“It’s not easy to guard him, but when you’re I guess 7-foot-2 and you can move and you’re also pretty strong, it becomes not easy, but becomes a lot easier too because he’s so strong,” Embiid said. “He goes so hard and it’s kind of like a fullback diving at you basically and you just got to take it and hope for the best.”
Embiid drew a charge on Antetokounmpo. Then, after James Harden made a 3 to pull Philadelphia within one, the big fella forced Antetokounmpo into a miss. Embiid made a triple to give the Sixers the lead. The Milwaukee star then committed a travel on the other end, so Embiid deserves credit for that.
“I got a charge call,” Embiid continued. “We got another questionable one that could have gone either way. I like that pressure to guard the best players on the other teams and I thought it did a pretty good job in that fourth quarter.”
That he did and if the Sixers and the Bucks are to match up in the playoffs, they will need Embiid to be the one to step up nightly and defend Antetokounmpo. It will not be an easy task, but the big fella seems up to the challenge.
[mm-video type=playlist id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01f1jxkahtwnvzepyp image=]
[lawrence-related id=76387,76380,76377]