Joel Embiid, James Harden Snap Snap Bucks’ Win Streak

The Sixers take down the Bucks, issuing Milwaukee its first loss since January.

The Milwaukee Bucks’ impressive win streak has come to an end. Heading into Saturday night’s matchup between the Bucks and the Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee had won 16 games in a row. The last time they came up short was on January 21 against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Going into Saturday’s primetime matchup between the Sixers and the Bucks, both teams were relatively healthy. However, the Sixers didn’t leave the matchup in the same shape.

In the first half, Sixers forward Tobias Harris started dealing with calf soreness. After checking in for 13 minutes, Harris went back to the locker room and wouldn’t return in the second half. Not long after, the other starting forward, PJ Tucker, joined him.

Despite being down two forwards, the Sixers relied on Georges Niang and Jalen McDaniels to fill in during the second half, while letting their stars get to work.

Through the first half of Saturday’s game, the Bucks were in clear control of the matchup. As Milwaukee drained 56 percent of their shots from the field, they outscored the Sixers 59-53 through the first two-quarters of action.

Although Milwaukee’s biggest lead was just six points in the first half, they were primed for a breakout in the third quarter. As a team, Milwaukee hit on nearly 70 percent of their threes in the third quarter. While the Sixers shot well from deep, the Bucks collected four more makes from beyond the arc. 

As the Bucks looked to pull away, they got off to an 18-point lead with a 40-point rally in the third quarter. The Sixers seemed out of it, trailing by 14 points going into the fourth quarter. 

But once again, this Sixers team proved you simply can't count them out.

The fourth quarter was one to remember for Sixers’ star guard, James Harden. As he checked in for the entire final 12 minutes of action, Harden knocked down five of his nine shots from the field. He hit on 50 percent of his threes. In addition to his successful shots from the field, Harden made all seven of his threes. He scored 19 of Philadelphia’s 48 fourth-quarter points.

And while the final quarter was a quiet one for Joel Embiid, the big man hit a clutch three-pointer and made two key free throws down the stretch to help ice the game. 

https://t.co/nY6j1P4ZzX pic.twitter.com/YoXehp7bDW

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) March 5, 2023

Saturday’s matchup had shining moments for most involved on Philly’s end. Embiid had a signature 30-plus-point outing, scoring 31 points. He collected a double-double with ten assists.

Meanwhile, James Harden was a vintage version of himself, scoring 38 points while dishing out ten assists and coming one rebound shy of a triple-double. 

While the Sixers’ two stars shined, Philadelphia got another strong effort from the young guard Tyrese Maxey, who produced 26 points in 40 minutes. Off the bench, Georges Niang jumped out of his recent shooting slump by making five of his six shots from beyond the arc. 

Lastly, the newly-acquired wing Jalen McDaniels gave the Sixers a little bit of everything down the stretch. He went 2-3 from the field, scoring eight points off the bench in 20 minutes of action. He was also solid on the defensive end of the floor and wrapped up the night as a plus-14. 

Completing the comeback from an 18-point deficit, the Sixers put the Bucks away 133-130 on Saturday night. As they snap Milwaukee’s 16-game win streak, the Sixers improve to 41-22 on the year before they take a trip to Indiana for a game on Monday. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.