Paul George scored 32 points and Joel Embiid added 29 to highlight the Philadelphia 76ers’ 139-122 victory over the visiting Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night.
George shot 9 of 15 from 3-point range as Philadelphia earned its 25th win, surpassing last season’s total. Tyrese Maxey contributed 22 points and nine assists for the Sixers, while VJ Edgecombe pitched in with 12 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
Myles Turner recorded 31 points and Ryan Rollins notched 24 for Milwaukee, which played without star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf), who is expected to miss at least a month. Bobby Portis had a solid all-around game for the Bucks with 17 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists.
Philadelphia bounced back nicely from Monday’s 130-93 road loss against the Charlotte Hornets. Milwaukee, meanwhile, has dropped six of its last seven games.
Philadelphia held a 94-91 lead before the team scored 12 points in the final 2:06 of the third quarter. Maxey and George each scored six points during that burst, helping the Sixers enter the fourth quarter with a 106-95 advantage.
George added another 3-pointer early in the fourth — not long after Jared McCain had made one of his own. Those two long-range shots gave the Sixers a 114-99 lead with 10:17 left. Then George drained another from outside the arc, and McCain followed suit as Philadelphia opened a 120-104 advantage.
McCain’s 3-pointer on the next possession made it 123-104, and he tacked on another for good measure to put the hosts up by 22. McCain finished with 17 points on 5-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc.
The Bucks kept fighting, as they got within 129-117 with 4:04 remaining. But Embiid knocked down a 3-pointer on the other end, and Philadelphia cruised from there.
The Sixers led 42-34 after one quarter thanks to 18 points from Embiid. The hosts took a 13-point lead with 6:28 left in the second quarter before Rollins helped bring the visitors within 71-62 at intermission.
Early in the third quarter, George scored 10 points in just over two minutes to put Philadelphia ahead 81-74. However, Kyle Kuzma and Portis promptly pulled Milwaukee into an 81-81 tie.
