The Milwaukee Bucks couldn’t string together a second straight win, losing to the Philadelphia 76ers for the second time this season, 116-101. The season series now sits at 0-2 for Milwaukee after they fell to Philly in overtime, 123-114, back in November. Read our full summary of the game here and catch a six-minute audio recap on the Bucks+ podcast, Bucks In Six Minutes, below.
Player Grades
Kevin Porter Jr.
37 minutes, 20 points, 9 assists, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, 4 turnovers, 5/13 FG, 9/9 FT, -20
Much like the rest of the Bucks,
it was a rough first quarter for KPJ, with three of his four turnovers coming in the period. That said, KPJ settled in and, at times, was the Bucks’ only reliable offense in the game.
Grade: B-
Ryan Rollins
35 minutes, 16 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, 4 steals, 6/13 FG, 2/2 3PT, -10
Rylo had a good all-around game, and he did a fantastic job defensively guarding Tyrese Maxey. The former Kentucky guard came in averaging 32.6 points per game, and Rollins played a significant role in limiting Maxey to his season-low 12 points on 5/14 shooting.
Grade: A-
Myles Turner
23 minutes, 19 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 3/7 3PT, 8/12 FT, -7
Turner played one of his better offensive games of the season; he was more decisive on that end. For a team that has struggled to get to the free throw line, Turner getting 12 is a good sign that he’s being more aggressive in the paint.
Grade: B
Jericho Sims
30 minutes, 2 points, 10 rebounds, 1 block, -7
After a career day on Wednesday, Sims fell back down to earth in this one. That said, he deserves credit for once again posting double-digit rebounds, and I do think he has cemented himself as part of this rotation moving forward. Would like more offense from him, but he’s so reliant on being set up that I really can’t blame him.
Grade: C+
Kyle Kuzma
29 minutes, 14 points, 5 rebounds, 4 fouls, 7/12 FG, 0/3 FT, -8
I know 14 points isn’t a lot, but last night felt like the quietest 14-point game I’ve ever seen. That’s probably because eight of his points came while the Bucks were trailing by 20 or more, and they didn’t feel very impactful.
Grade: C+
Bobby Portis
23 minutes, 22 points, 4 rebounds, 3 turnovers, 9/16 FG, 4/10 3PT, -5
Doc praised Bobby in the postgame presser for playing with the most energy he had played with all season, and I agree; Portis has looked more confident, and it’s showing. I would like to see him put a tad more energy into defense and rebounding, but scoring 22 off the bench was the big boost the Bucks needed with Green out injured for the entire second half.
Grade: B+
Gary Trent Jr.
24 minutes, 6 points, 3 assists, 2/5 FG, 1/4 3PT, -3
Trent hasn’t really looked like himself all season. He’s shooting the third-worst from three-point range in his career, and the second-worst since he became a regular rotation player (he shot 23.8% as a rookie, but only played in 15 games). The four days in between today’s game against Detroit and next Thursday’s against Boston are going to be a much-needed reset for Trent.
Grade: C-
Gary Harris
21 minutes, 0 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 fouls, 2 turnovers, -8
It was a rough day at the office for Harris. He only got one shot up, and his defense was not all that notable. Just a bad performance start to finish for GH.
Grade: D+
Doc Rivers
Doc continues to perplex with his rotation decisions at center. He subs Turner out with over three and a half minutes to go in the third and doesn’t put him back in until 2:24 left in the fourth, with the Bucks down by 12 points. These are the games that make the crowd who want Rivers gone speak even louder, and I can’t say their wrong.
Grade: D
Incomplete: AJ Green
Garbage Time: Cole Anthony, Andre Jackson Jr., Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Pete Nance, Amir Coffey
Inactive: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Taurean Prince, Alex Antetokounmpo
Bonus Bucks Bits
- Doc gave an update on the status of AJ Green, who left he game with a left shoulder contunsion in the second quarter. As of the writing of this, they don’t know the severity of the injury and will conduct an MRI tomorrow in Detroit.
- When asked for his reasoning to play Bobby Portis and Jericho Sims together down the stretch and keep Turner on the bench until the 2:24 mark of the fourth quarter, this is what Rivers had to say:
“Bobby was playing well, we wanted a roller (Sims). We could’ve easily played Bobby and Myles together, which we’ll do at times. We just felt like we needed one roller to create shots, and Bobby was playing well.”
- The Bucks had a chance to win their second game in a row for the first time since the opening week of the season, when they beat the Knicks and Warriors. I asked Kevin Porter Jr. what were some of the biggest issues preventing them from stringing any wins together:
“I think one reason is we haven’t had a full team; secondly, we’re trying to find our way, and still figure things out with the absences. AJ went down, so we lost another big piece to start the second half. We’ve got to start off with the right energy; we always finish with the right energy, but we’ve got to start with the right energy.”
- Bobby Portis was asked how he’s been trying to help the Bucks’ young point guards in Rollins and KPJ in the two-man game with him:
“After practice me, Ryan and Cole, we always just get together and shoot shots and then work some pick and roll things. I think over the last couple of months, we’ve been doing that since training camp. With Ryan, he comes to my house a lot, and we watch games, so that’s like my dog, for real; been doing that for a year now. So we have a great rapport and chemistry.”
- The Bucks are now 1-6 when Giannis doesn’t play this season.
Up Next
The Milwaukee Bucks will play their third game of the season against the Detroit Pistons tonight. They’ll head on the road to play in Little Caesars Arena at 6:30 p.m. Central; the game will be televised on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin.
