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Giannis, Bucks Dominate Joel Embiid, 76ers After Ben Simmons Leaves with Injury
February 23, 2020
The Milwaukee Bucks coasted to a 119-98 home victory against the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday behind Giannis Antetokounmpo's 31 points, 17 rebounds and eight assists.
Khris Middleton added 25 points for the 48-8 Bucks, who own the Eastern Conference's best record by seven games over the second-place Toronto Raptors.
Joel Embiid, Furkan Korkmaz and Shake Milton each scored 17 points for the 35-22 76ers, who played the majority of this game without point guard Ben Simmons.
The 76ers' floor general suffered an irritation of his lower back 4:44 into the game and did not return. Per the Philadelphia Inquirer's Keith Pompey, the irritation occurred on a first-quarter layup.
Simmons sat his team's previous game against the Brooklyn Nets with lower back tightness.
The Bucks have won seven of eight. The 76ers' four-game winning streak ended.
Notable Performances
76ers C Joel Embiid: 17 PTS, 11 REB, 4 AST
76ers SG Furkan Korkmaz: 17 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST
76ers SG Shake Milton: 17 PTS, 2 AST
Bucks PF Giannis Antetokounmpo: 31 PTS, 17 REB, 8 AST
Bucks SF Khris Middleton: 25 PTS, 9 REB, 2 AST
Bucks PG Eric Bledsoe: 12 PTS, 8 AST, 4 REB
Bucks' Dominance Continues in Easy Win
Matt Velazquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel encapsulated the Bucks' phenomenal game (and season) in one postgame tweet:
There isn't a shortage of statistics to explain just how good the Bucks have been this year.
They've outscored their opponents by 12.4 points, or nearly six more points than their closest competitor in that stat, the Los Angeles Lakers.
They're one of three teams to lose fewer than 10 road games this season and will probably finish that way by virtue of a 22-5 record.
The Bucks are also a mind-boggling 42-5 in their past 47 games, good enough for an .894 winning percentage.
On Saturday, they cruised to victory courtesy of a third quarter in which they outscored the 76ers 37-23. Antetokounmpo scored seven points before the 76ers scored one and had 12 in the quarter.
Antetokounmpo also got help from his teammates, with Middleton hitting a baseline jumper and Wesley Matthews sticking a three after a slick dish from the presumed back-to-back NBA MVP:
Everyone was hitting shots, with big man Robin Lopez even sticking a corner three.
The Bucks were also tough on the boards, so much so that 6'3" guard George Hill put home a tip-in on the offensive glass.
When the quarter was over, the Bucks were up 93-73 and well on their way to win No. 48.
Granted, the 76ers were without Simmons for all but five minutes, and the point guard has given the Bucks some serious trouble in the past. But Milwaukee still made this game largely uncompetitive before the third quarter was over, which has become commonplace.
More games like this are on the way for the Bucks as the regular season nears its end, but the real question is how the team will perform in the spring.
Last season ended with a disappointing Eastern Conference Finals loss to the eventual NBA champion Toronto Raptors despite Milwaukee's home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.
However, this year's team is deeper, Antetokounmpo is somehow better and the team's archnemesis (ex-Raptor Kawhi Leonard) is now a Los Angeles Clipper.
We'll see how the playoffs turn out, but expect more blowouts as the year winds down.
What's Next?
Both teams will play next on Monday at 7 p.m. ET.
The 76ers will host the Atlanta Hawks at Wells Fargo Center, and the Bucks will visit the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena.