Another disconcerting effort from Sixers in loss to Giannis-less Bucks (Go Birds)

The Sixers kept pace in the first half but were played off the floor by the Giannis-less Bucks in the second half of yet another disturbing loss.

Happy retirement, Hubie Brown. Sorry your party sucked.

In Philadephia’s most important game of the day, the Sixers put forth their second embarrassing effort of the weekend, falling 135-127 to the Milwaukee Bucks Sunday afternoon. The Bucks grabbed 19 offensive rebounds on the day.

Joel Embiid finished with 27 points and 12 rebounds while shooting 50% from the floor but only had three points in the second half.

Tyrese Maxey led the Sixers with 39 points shooting 16-of-23 from the field. Again looking hesitant because of his finger, Paul George finished with 12 points and five rebounds. Damian Lillard led all scorers with a season-high 43.

Milwaukee was without Giannis Antetekounmpo after it was reported today he’d be out through the All-Star break.

Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.

First Quarter

• It was a much quicker start for Embiid, who made the Sixers’ first three field goals of the game — the Brook Lopez matchup allows him to step into pretty much any long range jumper. Lillard was off to a similar start, as he navigated screens to open up the game with a pair of threes.
• Inverting the matchup on the other end to have Kelly Oubre Jr. guard Lopez did lead to a quick seven points for Lopez, though Quentin Grimes checking in made it noticeably easier to chase guys around the perimeter. On the other end Embiid and Maxey were on fire, making six of their first seven three-pointers of the game.

• Justin Edwards’ late move to the starting lineup was in fact to preserve Guerschon Yabusele as he first checked in as the backup five. The offense hit a bit of a lull then but it was really their three-point shots regressing. They missed four straight before Maxey and Grimes got back on track with drives. A Kyle Kuzma layup gave the Bucks a one-point lead after both teams shot over 55% in the quarter.

Second Quarter

• Jared Butler checked in for his first minutes here to start the quarter, and got a basket early on a nice give-and-go where he cut to the block. Grimes knocked down a three on the following possession. Butler did also sail a pass into the stands and smoke another layup as he looked a bit rushed in his first shift.
• How convenient for this piece of brand new information to drop right after Daryl Morey’s media availabilities, but also right before the Eagles are about to play in the Super Bowl.

• Similar to the Mavericks win, the Sixers stabilized again when Maxey returned to the floor. Both teams went cold in the middle of the quarter as neither of them could get a jumper to fall for five minutes. The Sixers did lose the possession battle handily in the half due to giving up 11 offensive rebounds, eight in the second.
• It was another quiet half for PG who was favoring his left hand again. He did finish off an and-1 layup that capped off an 8-0 run. The Bucks answered with a three to beat the buzzer though to go into the half up two.

Third Quarter

• At least he waited a half. Nick Nurse tried to take Embiid’s third foul off the board when after getting called for a charge on the second possession of the half. The call was upheld as Kuzma clearly got set in time. Whoever is the Sixers’ head of replays is not having a good year.
• The Sixers continued to shoot it well from deep, but continued to.struggle to get anything going inside. It took them nearly seven minutes to score their first field goal of the second half inside the arc. They continued to get killed on the glass too as the Bucks pulled down offensive rebound after offensive rebound. Milwaukee came into the day with the lowest offensive rebounding rate in the league, per Cleaning the Glass.
• Maxey roasted over for perhaps the best block of his career, and it led to a George three on the other end, but they couldn’t string two solid possessions together. They also couldn’t keep anyone in front of them as the Bucks lead grew to 12.

Fourth Quarter

• Maxey and Embiid stayed out there to start the quarter, but it didn’t stop the game beginning to get out of hand. They each had a rough turnover as the Bucks opened it on a 12-2 run.
• The production from Maxey slowed down slightly, but Embiid completely disappeared in the second half. He had just three points on 1-of-4 shooting. If the team-wide effort on defense and the glass is going to be this poor, they have to play a perfect offensive game to have a chance.
• They were hardly able to string enough makes together to make a fake comeback that was too little, too late, though Yabu did his best. Nurse didn’t wave the white flag per se as Maxey was out there with other starters, but George and Embiid didn’t play the final 6:22.
• The Sixers will return home for their next matchup as they host the Toronto Raptors Tuesday night at 7 p.m. ET. It’s the first time these two have met since the first week of the season, where the Raptors picked up a 115-107 win.