MILWAUKEE — The Philadelphia 76ers picked up one helluva win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night. They trailed by as many as 18 and lost two starters, PJ Tucker and Tobias Harris, to injuries but still won, 133-130.
Harris left at halftime due to left calf soreness. Tucker left at the end of the third quarter due to back spasms. In their place, the Sixers received production out of Jalen McDaniels and Georges Niang.
However, the Sixers need both Tucker and Harris. As they now prepare for the Indiana Pacers on Monday, coach Doc Rivers is unsure if he’ll have either guy for that matchup.
“I have no idea,” Rivers said when asked if the injuries will cause them to miss the next contest with Indiana. “My guess, if I was a guessing man, yes, just watching them in the locker room, but we have 48 hours. So, you know, these guys are different.”
Tucker admitted he has been fighting back issues for some time. He was in obvious pain in the locker room after the game.
“I’ve been fighting back spasms the last two days and today (Saturday) just went crazy,” Tucker stated. “I couldn’t run. I couldn’t jump. So I just went to the back, try to get it better, I couldn’t get better.”
When asked if he would play against the Pacers on Monday, Tucker was noncommittal on his status.
“We’ll see,” Tucker added. “We got a day between. Do all the treatment when I can and see what happens.”
Obviously, time will tell whether Tucker and Harris will play on Monday, but if they can’t, then the Sixers will turn to McDaniels and Niang to give them a boost.
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