PHILADELPHIA–The Philadelphia 76ers returned home on Tuesday to host the Milwaukee Bucks looking to win an important matchup. The two teams had split their first two matchups and the winner of this one would earn the all-important tiebreaker in the standings in order to have the higher seed should they end in a tie in the standings.
The Bucks got off to a solid start led by Giannis Antetokounmpo before the Sixers were able to buckle down on defense and rally to take the lead. Philadelphia led for a majority of the second half, but the Bucks were able to rally late in the fourth and they walked away from Philadelphia with a 118-116 win and the tiebreaker in their possession. Antetokounmpo finished with 40 points, 14 rebounds, and six assists and a huge block on Joel Embiid for the defending champs.
James Harden led Philadelphia with a new Sixer-high 32 points, nine assists, and five rebounds and Embiid had 29 points, 14 rebounds, and seven assists to lead Philadelphia. Tobias Harris added 22, 11 rebounds, and six assists, Tyrese Maxey had seven and six assists, and Danny Green and Georges Niang had nine each off the bench.
Here are the player grades following the loss: