Giannis Antetokounmpo had 32 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Milwaukee Bucks past the Philadelphia 76ers 114-105 on Thursday night.
Brook Lopez added 19 points and seven rebounds and Damian Lillard had 17 points and seven assists for the Bucks, who won at home after losing three of four on a West Coast swing, which included a 129-94 drubbing against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday.
Tyrese Maxey scored 30 points for the 76ers, who closed out a 1-2 road trip. Tobias Harris added 15 points and Cam Payne had 13.
The Bucks, who trailed 83-80 at the start of the fourth quarter, moved ahead 88-87 on a layup by Bobby Portis with 8:42 left and didn’t relinquish the lead.
The Bucks were short-handed as starting guard Malik Beasley and reserve MarJon Beauchamp sat out with back spasms. Khris Middleton missed his 16th consecutive game with a sprained left ankle.
Without standout Joel Embiid, Philadelphia has been struggling to generate offense. The 76ers have lost 13 of 20 without Embiid, who is recovering from a meniscus injury to his left knee. They were held to 79 points in splitting back-to-back games against the New York Knicks on Sunday and Tuesday, and reached that point total on Thursday with two minutes remaining in the third.
Philadelphia got off to a quick start, making 11 of their first 20 shots, including 5 of their 9 3-point attempts, to end the first quarter on a 10-0 run.
In the second, the 76ers had a 12-point lead. Payne, who was traded by Milwaukee to Philadelphia in February in exchange for Patrick Beverley, finished the quarter with 11 points, three of which came from three-point range. At the half, Philadelphia had a 61-53 lead thanks to 56% field goal shooting and 58% long-range sniping. Maxey scored 18 points in the first half, hitting 4 of 5 three-pointers.
The Sixers scored 17 points in the first half as a result of the Bucks’ 10 turnovers.
Hot shooting continued to fuel Philly. At the break, they were shooting 57.9 percent from beyond the arc, including four threes from Tyrese Maxey. That was the defining factor in the Sixers carrying a 61-53 lead at halftime
The Bucks would make a dent in the third, despite Maxey continuing to score at a high rate. To end things, Giannis found Pat Connaughton down low for a buzzer-beating layup that made it 83-80 heading into the fourth.
Milwaukee overtook the lead with clutch play from a handful of players, with the dagger coming from a Brook Lopez three with less than a minute to go. When it was all done and dusted, the Bucks earned a 114-105 victory.