By: Kylan Watson
After falling to the Toronto Raptors last night, the Philadelphia 76ers faced the Milwaukee Bucks for their fifth back-to-back of the season. Thanks to a fourth quarter and overtime explosion from Tyrese Maxey Philly was able to beat the Bucks 123-114 for their ninth victory of the season.
The Sixers started this game off very slowly, Paul George scored 11 of his 21 points in the first quarter and really set the tone for the Sixers. Before the Bucks could even settle into this game they were down by double-digits and Philly was threatening to blow them off their home floor. When George plays like he did tonight he shows why the Sixers gave him a max contract, he stabilized the Sixers on the defensive end and with his ability to handle the ball he allows Tyrese Maxey to get off the ball and pick the best matchups like he did tonight.
George set the tone and Maxey answered he scored 54 points in this contest (new career high), had nine assists, and made 60% of his field goals in tonight’s contest. He really saved the Sixers in tonight’s game because other than him and George no one else had it in tonight’s game after playing last night. Philly weathered a bad second quarter that erased a 13-point lead and were able to steal this game from Milwaukee. Maxey and George refused to let their team lose this game. In addition, Maxey played the entire second half and they are very lucky they have the next two days off, to rest and get healthier with Joel Embiid possibly returning next week. The Sixers could have their “Big Three” available for the first time this season very soon.
Despite the explosion from George and Maxey, Milwaukee was able to take advantage of a Sixers power outage to retake the lead in the second quarter. Ryan Rollins scored 32 points and had 14 assists in this contest and he did all he could to will the Bucks to a win, the Sixers just could not stop him throughout this game, they were able to slow him down by putting VJ Edgecombe and Quentin Grimes on him and that slowed him down enough to allow the Sixers to push the game to overtime and ultimately win this game.
Philly won this game thanks to their defensive pressure which forced an overtime cold streak from the Bucks and that allowed the Sixers to win this game. Their defense looks improved when George is out there is length and basketball IQ takes Philly’s defensive scheme to another level. He blew up multiple Milwaukee possessions with his prowess for deflecting balls or positioning. That is something Philly’s defense has lacked all season and if George can play like he did tonight, the Sixers will be a force to be reckon with in the wide-open Eastern Conference.
The Sixers will now prepare to face the Miami Heat on Sunday afternoon for the first time this season. This will be another opponent that plays a tough defensive scheme. They will need to use their ball movement to create high-percentage shots to make Miami pay for their mistakes and overplays. In addition, they will have to limit their turnovers and do all they can to limit the effectiveness of Tyler Herro. Implementing these things into their game plan on Sunday night should put them in great position to win their 10th game of the season.
