Tyrese Maxey’s 37 not enough vs. Bucks as shorthanded Sixers continue to spiral

The first half of the 2024-25 season is finally in the books.

The Sixers dropped their sixth straight, losing to the Milwaukee Bucks 123-109 on Sunday night. They are 15-26.

Paul George and Guerschon Yabusele remained on the inactive list as the Sixers had nine players available, including their two-way.

Tyrese Maxey led all scorers with 37 points, shooting 14-of-28 from the field and 6-of-15 from three-point range. Kelly Oubre Jr. finished with 17. Adem Bona was perfect again from the floor, finishing with 10 and six rebounds on 4-of-4 from the floor. He fouled out at 24 minutes, guarding Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 34 points and 15 rebounds. He shot 13-of-17 from the field.

Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.

First quarter

• Maxey got off to a fast start by knocking down a pair of jumpers, but the rest of the team started the game 1-of-5 from the field and 2-of-4 from the free throw line. Eric Gordon was one of those who shared a pair early – this funk from the line has affected even the most reliable shooters on this team.
• Kyle Lowry was one of those who was unable to match up as he missed his eighth straight game by one. hip injury. He made the most of the green hoodie he wore.

• It was a similar start for Milwaukee – no problems for Antetokounmpo, but the rest of the Bucks opened the game 3-of-10 from the floor. Bona didn’t have much success slowing him down early, but got it back on the other end with a couple of and-1s. He really struggled from the line in the quarter, going 1-of-5 from the stripe.
• Who better than Pete Nance to snap a field goal drought that lasted well over three minutes. Oubre followed it up with a layup on the next possession, but the Sixers still trailed by nine after the first.

Second Quarter

• They took advantage of Giannis’ first trip to the bench, sparking a 15-2 run. Sandwiched between Maxey pull-up threes, Justin Edwards got on the board with a backdoor cut and took advantage of a nonchalant defense.
• Considering the offense almost entirely came down to what Maxey could give them, things slowed down a bit after that run. Gordon was able to hit on a couple of deep threes, Ricky Council IV also hit one although it wasn’t as pretty.
• Bona had to substitute with a few minutes left in the half after picking up his third foul, but not before he had another massive dunk down the court. He is able to get very high very quickly when he is able to get downhill. It ended up being the Sixers’ last field goal of the half, and they went into halftime still trailing by nine.

Third Quarter

• Bona used the same move to get down the lane, but this time he pump faked to put it in around Antetokounmpo. Outside of that, the offense struggled to save a few fast break opportunities out of the half.
• After failing to do so since November, Council hit multiple threes in two consecutive games. He drilled two more as the Sixers continued to climb back every time the Bucks’ lead threatened to reach double digits.

• Khris Middleton drew Nance’s fourth foul with the Bucks in the bonus, putting both available big men to the Sixers’ four fouls. After picking up a shot clock violation on their final possession, they entered the final quarter still trailing by nine points.

Fourth Quarter

• Milwaukee was finally able to keep that lead in double digits as Damian Lillard and Brook Lopez each sank a pair of threes. Maxey checked in about a minute into the neighborhood and ended the night at 41:26. It was the 14th time he has played at least 40 in the 34 games he has played this season.
• Maxey continued to battle and knocked down a few buckets as the game began to turn. He was also robbed of a fast break because the referees decided to honor the shot clock violation. However, they couldn’t put together enough stops as they had no answer for Lillard.

• Another stop on this trip as the Sixers head to Denver to take on the Nuggets on Tuesday night at 10 p.m. ET. The intellectuals out there have already accused Joel Embiid of ducking Nikola Jokic again.