The Milwaukee Bucks swept their season series against the Philadelphia 76ers following a 132-94 win Saturday afternoon.
Philadelphia was without their star-studded tandem Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons in this matchup, which certainly drained some of the intensity out of the game. Embiid previously missed the first meeting of the season, while Simmons missed the second and left the Bucks without facing a full strength 76ers team so far this season.
More from Bucks News
- Bucks 2023-24 player profile: Can MarJon Beauchamp take a leap?
- Piecing together the Milwaukee Bucks’ dream starting 5 in 5 years
- Predicting Thanasis Antetokounmpo’s 2023-24 stats for the Bucks
- Grade the trade: Bucks land reputable backup guard in swap with Pacers
- New workout video should have Milwaukee Bucks fans excited
Still, this was an interesting one from the start with both teams coming out of the gates slow. After some early struggles, the Bucks took this one by the horns and eventually built up a lead as sizable as 41 in the fourth quarter.
Giannis Antetokounmpo clocked in another MVP-caliber performance by finishing with 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting, 14 rebounds, and seven assists in just under 24 minutes of action.
Following the victory, the Bucks move to 37-22 on the season and now find themselves a game-and-a-half behind the 76ers for the second spot in the East standings. Furthermore, they are now just two-and-a-half games back of the Brooklyn Nets for the top overall seed, and they can gain ground further with an upcoming two game set against them next month.
In short, the Bucks picked up a pair of important wins over the 76ers this week, and here are three takeaways from Saturday’s performance.
The Milwaukee Bucks continue their 3-point barrage in win over 76ers
Milwaukee knocked down an impressive 20 triples in 40 attempts in their 124-117 win over Philadelphia on Thursday.
It was another fantastic shooting night from the behind the arc for the Bucks, and they carried that success over into Saturday’s contest by nearly matching that total. Despite the shooting struggles that plagued them early on, the Bucks found some rhythm as the game progressed by finishing this game shooting 18-for-40 from long range.
Donte DiVincenzo paved the way by connecting on three of his five attempts from three, which helped him find a much-needed groove from deep after some recent struggles. He was joined by Jordan Nwora, who made his presence felt in his limited minutes by shooting 3-for-4 from long distance. More on Nwora’s strong efforts off the bench in a minute.
While Nwora and DiVincenzo helped Milwaukee find some rhythm from deep, Philadephia could never shake the slump that hindered them from the opening tip. They finished the contest shooting just 7-of-31 from range, thanks to a combination of shooting woes and aggressive defense from the Bucks.
It seems that the Bucks have built up some nice momentum with their shooting in these recent contests, and hopefully they can stay red hot down the final stretch.