Tyrese Maxey’s gutsy effort beat Giannis Antetokounmpo

The Philadelphia 76ers (15-26) reached the halfway point of the 2024-25 season, facing the team they started the season against, the Milwaukee Bucks (24-17). In the second game of a losing streak with Joel Embiid, Paul George, Gershon Yabusele, Caleb Martin and other players, the Sixers set a new season record for consecutive losses, dropping their sixth straight loss. Final score: 123-109.

Initial lineup of Tyrese McKayEric Gordon, Kelli Oubre Jr., Ricky Council IV and Adem Bona (one that was changed at the last minute) faced an almost fully healthy Bucks lineup that had the luxury of an off day yesterday. Looking down the dynamic duo of Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo was a team with 10 healthy players and most of the healthy rotation inactive.

Another team of wildly cut hands with little courage

The 76ers kept the Indiana Pacers close on Saturday night, but were too undisciplined on defense and on the glass to pull out the win. Once again, most of the main roster was inactive due to injuries. In a bizarre ode to Spectacular play by Saquon Barkley in the playoffsThe Sixers fielded their 26th different starting lineup.

Bona ran dribble handoffs and pick-and-rolls with Maxi and the ball-handlers around him, showing impressive composure as he got into the second option and made some decent shots in the paint. He battled valiantly against Antetokounmpo, but was clearly no match for the superstar, and ended up fouling out.

The Greek Freak went to the bench and started the second quarter with a nine-point lead. But when the rat was away, the mice played. The 76ers started the second quarter on a 15-2 run. McKay did most of the damage, draining several 3-pointers and wreaking havoc on defense leading to his second dunk of the game. They looked like a team with more energy and urgency.

When Antetokounmpo returned, he hit a shot from close range to put his team up nine again at the end of the half. Conversely, the Sixers shot poorly in the paint. While they did a good job of keeping the ball moving in the half court and scoring on their moves, they were largely a step behind the Bucks offensively. Even with a solid three-point shooting game by the standards of such a battered group, it didn’t get them far enough.

Maxi had one of his most encouraging performances of the season, shooting very effectively. The 76ers used different types of double coverage sets to get him open from deep and, lo and behold, it worked! His stat line — 37 points, seven assists, six rebounds, 14-28 field goal shooting, 6-15 three-point shooting — and overall performance leave room for optimism in his abilities. As for the team and its result? so…

The time for moral victories is over. The 76ers now have to worry about simply making the playoffs and any real loss hurts that goal. It’s fair to express some relief that they aren’t getting blown out of the water in every game, as they did at the start of the season, but the losses now have clearer implications for how far the team is from contention.

What do you do against Dame and Giannis?

The 76ers had their hands full with the best tandem in the NBA. Fortunately, only one of them was on their A-game for most of the evening. However, that’s still all it really took.

Bona was the first to take over Giannis’ task. It’s a wild testament to the team’s injuries and an even more incredible endorsement of the rookie’s ability. He certainly didn’t mail it in, but he was very conscious of not putting himself in a position to get whistled for a foul. With only Pete Nance behind him on the depth chart going into this game, the Sixers needed him to play a lot.

Maxey guarded Lillard in Battle No. 0. Lillard didn’t do anything to begin with, but his bucket partner certainly did. Giannis finished the first quarter with 12 points on 6-7 shooting and a pair of assists. Lillard settled for a lot of 3-pointers and wasn’t able to find the bottom of the net until later in the fourth quarter.

After Bona picked up his first foul of the game, the 76ers moved into a 2-3 zone. They had their guards in a pinch to take away Antetokounmpo’s entry at the foul line, but Milwaukee offered little resistance on 3-pointers and the offensive glass.

Oubre guarded the Greek Freak a few times to save Bona from foul trouble, but still found his way there after picking him up in transition. It didn’t look like he obviously did anything wrong, but he did pick up a third foul. The Sixers sorely missed having him, watching the Bucks steal more points with his presence on the bench.

Perhaps the bigger takeaway from the undermanned 76ers looking good is that the Bucks have “potential first round exit” written all over them. Most NBA fans probably understand that the Bucks aren’t on the same level as the rest of the Eastern Conference teams, but letting this Sixers lineup hang around for so long wasn’t great.

Like the Pacers, the Bucks were at home and healthier than the 76ers. They got them on the second night in a row. In the end, though, they pulled away with time to spare, leaving the Sixers with the eponymous number on their current losing streak.

The 76ers will finish their road trip on Tuesday against the Denver Nuggets.