MILWAUKEE — The Philadelphia 76ers have four games remaining following a 117-104 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks that dropped them to 51-27 on the season. The loss meant the Sixers cannot earn the No. 1 seed for the playoffs, and they remain third in the standings.
The Bucks shot a blistering 69.6% from the floor and they led by as many as 22 on their way to the win. Philadelphia worked its way back and cut the deficit to eight, but it wasn’t enough. Milwaukee pulled away to pick up the win.
Tyrese Maxey, who led the Sixers with 29 points, laid out his goals for the Sixers with the playoffs right around the corner now.
“Just figuring out how we’re gonna play every single night,” Maxey said. “I think we’ve done that for the most part, figuring out what we’re gonna do if a team switches, figure out what we’re gonna do if a team is in drop coverage. Like I said, I think we figured that out for the most part, and then just kind of coaching and figuring out the rotations, playoff rotations, different things like that and I think everything’s going smooth.”
The rotation is one thing the Sixers need to figure out. Paul Reed was pulled at the 10:44 mark of the fourth quarter with the Sixers looking to mount a comeback. They were within 14 and had momentum at that point, but coach Doc Rivers inserted PJ Tucker for Reed and the Bucks ripped off seven straight points to go up 21.
With four games remaining, the Sixers have to get right for the playoffs. They will host the Boston Celtics on Tuesday and the Miami Heat on Thursday before they finish the season on the road against the Atlanta Hawks and the Brooklyn Nets.
“Just keep trying to trend in the right direction and stepping in the right direction,” Maxey added. “That one happened (the loss to the Bucks) and we got to move on from it and we play Boston in a couple days so.”
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