MILWAUKEE–The Philadelphia 76ers were looking to continue their strong play as of late as they paid a visit to the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday night. It was a quick one-game trip before returning home and they were looking to win the series with one of the top teams in the league.
Instead, the Bucks hit them in the mouth early. Milwaukee shot a blistering 69.6% from the floor in the first quarter on its way to building an 18-point lead in the first quarter. The Sixers did fight back and cut the lead to eight, but Milwaukee answered and the lead was then as large as 22 before they pulled out a 117-104 victory.
The Bucks were coming off a 41-point loss in their previous game on Thursday against the Boston Celtics so there was motivation for them to come out on Sunday and make a statement. On top of that, the Sixers defeated the Bucks on March 4 in this building so there was a lot for Milwaukee in this one.
“Obviously, they got their ass kicked last game, so they were sitting on it for two or three days,” said Joel Embiid who had 28 points. “So I’m sure they want to come back and get back to themselves and they did that. The hot shooting to start the game and they jumped on us and we didn’t have any answer.”
Embiid didn’t have the greatest night. He shot just 11-for-25 and he was 1-for-7 from deep as the Sixers just were not able to bounce back from the tough start.
“I just thought they kicked our butt,” added coach Doc Rivers. “They were more aggressive, they were prepared, they beat us all the way around. They beat us in playing, coaching, energy, everything. They had three days to prepare. Their last game they played, they got blown out, so this is a team that’s won a title. They have a lot of pride, they showed that. We didn’t respond very well.”
The Bucks shot 5-for-6 from deep in the first quarter as they were able to jump on the Sixers early. Philadelphia switched a lot on the screens and Milwaukee was able to find open spots from the perimeter.
“They hit some 3s in the beginning of the game when we was switching,” explained Tyrese Maxey. “We gotta switch up better and take away those 3s. That’s kind of why we were switching so that was on us and then it was kind of an uphill slope from there. Us trying to tread hill and get back. Just weren’t able to get it.”
The Sixers now move on to face the Celtics on Tuesday.
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Story originally appeared on Sixers Wire