Bucks use size to dominate 76ers in 124-109 season-opening win
PHILADELPHIA – The Milwaukee Bucks went into Philadelphia on Wednesday night and handled the 76ers 124-109 at the Wells Fargo Center, leading by as many as 22 points in the second half of a physical season opener.
Damian Lillard led the Bucks with 30 points while Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 23 and had 14 rebounds. Taurean Prince (16) and Bobby Portis Jr. (16) also scored in double figures.
Philadelphia (0-1) was without Joel Embiid and Paul George, but despite having five players reach double figures they shot just over 40% from the floor overall and under 30% from behind the three-point line with the regulars in the game.
"We didn't have Khris (Middleton), you know, which is one of our key guys," Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said of the 76ers stars being out. "We're not worried about the opponent right now, honestly. We're more worried about how we play. I thought the first quarter it took awhile to get our feet going, but then once we started playing right we wouldn't have cared who was out there.
"I think our guys are serious about the season. You can see it. There was clearly a game that they announced their two guys are out, it could have been one of those games and it wasn't. That was good."
BOX SCORE: Bucks 124, 76ers 109
Milwaukee on the other hand shot 54.7% from the floor and 44.1% from behind the three-point line while their regulars were in the game.
The Bucks (1-0) host Chicago for their home opener Friday night at Fiserv Forum.
Here are three takeaways from the Bucks season opener:
Bucks use size to overpower 76ers
Philadelphia was without center Joel Embiid (7-0) and forward Paul George (6-8), which shifted backup center Andre Drummond into the starting lineup and left the team with only Guerschon Yabusele as the only other regular at 6-8 or taller. That meant the 76ers were trying to slow Brook Lopez (7-1), Giannis Antetokounmpo (7-0) and Bobby Portis (6-10) with players who were giving up sometimes six to seven inches in height.
"The game plan was exactly what we wanted," Rivers said. "We gave up a couple threes that you just can’t give up, the offensive rebounds we gotta clean up, but our bigs protected the basket the entire night. And they made some tough shots. And we kept telling our guys if that’s the shots they make, I don’t think they can make enough of ‘em to win a game. You could see they were exhausted from driving. Driving into the trees, that’s exactly what we wanted.”
Lopez scored 10 points and was a menace defensively, blocking six shots and affecting handfuls of others. Lopez also cleared the way for his teammates to defensive rebounds and finish possessions. And the best the 76ers could do with Antetokounmpo and Portis was to clutch, grab, hold, pull and push to slow the two scorers down. It was effective enough – the officials allowed the game to be played very physically – but the Bucks just overpowered the short-handed hosts.
“You gotta be patient, you gotta keep on making the right play," Antetokounmpo said. "At the end of the day, it’s going to be physical. You gotta expect that.
"I just gotta get my rhythm back. The last time I played a (regular season) NBA game was April 9, the game I got hurt. It’s a different pace, different speed, different physicality, different spacing, more minutes. I haven’t played 32 minutes for awhile. So, I’ll be OK.”
That included using that size to free up point guard Damian Lillard, who made 6 of his 12 three-pointers.
“When he gets to his spot, he’s hard to guard – especially when Brook or I or Bobby set a good screen for him, it’s very, very hard to guard," Antetokounmpo said, "Because the big gotta make a decision. Is he really going to step up? He’s going to beat you off the dribble because he’s very explosive. Or, you’re gonna kind of crowd him and make him make that pocket pass to the big. You gotta choose. You gotta choose your poison. Dame, man, we need him to be this aggressive throughout the whole season and it just makes the game easier for everybody else.”
On the night, Antetokounmpo drew 11 fouls, Lopez four and Portis one.
Giannis and Damian Lillard dominate 76ers
Heading into the start of the regular season, Bucks head coach Doc Rivers felt that his two stars were in a much better place playing together than they were a year ago. That chemistry was on display early, as the two paired off with some smooth pick-and-roll plays (regardless of if a basket was made), along with a more natural looking understanding of each other’s space when on the court together.
Antetokounmpo scored 23 points on just 11 shots and he made 9 of his 16 free throws. Lillard started slowly, but finished with 30 points on 9-of-19 shooting.
“They were both dominant," Rivers said. "They were both dominant. Just the way they’re playing – they’re being patient, not forcing a lot. The floor is wide open. Our spacing is great and that helps Giannis and Dame. I thought at the start of the third quarter we ran I think four iso’s in a row for Giannis and he only took two of the shots. The other two he created two threes. That tells you where he’s at.”
Within that, the two pair also used the attention they drew to hand out 13 combined assists.
“I thought our offense was just clicking so well," Lopez said. "That trust I talked about on defense, that was there offensively and you can tell that was something we were able to work on in the offseason, get on the same page, have a great foundation. I thought we came out the first night and when Dame was out there it was just clicking with everyone. We were all on the same page, there was trust and he was doing a great job running things.”
Trent, Prince make impact in Bucks debut
Taurean Prince started in place of an injured Khris Middleton, and the forward made his first four catch-and-shoot three-pointers and opened the game 5 for 5 from the floor in scoring 14 points in 19 minutes in helping the Bucks build a double-digit lead in the third quarter. He finished with 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting and pulled down five rebounds and had three assists.
“I think he knows how to go to the open spot, play off me and Dame and Brook and Bobby," Antetokounmpo said of Prince. "He’s always in the right spot. Obviously can knock down shots. I think he made four tonight – we need him to do that. He was also incredible. Defensively was very, very good for us also. But one thing that I think is underrated for ‘TP’ is that he always finds the open spot. When you get stuck you know he’s going to bail you out.”
Gary Trent Jr. is the team’s new starting shooting guard and drew the night’s toughest defensive assignment in Philadelphia’s all-star guard Tyrese Maxey. Trent pestered Maxey all night, staying on his hip around screens, using his 6-9 wingspan to keep the 76ers star off balance to the tune of 21 missed shots. It took Maxey 31 field goal attempts to score 25 points, just the type of inefficient night the Bucks needed to put the shorthanded 76ers away.
“Our whole game plan was to make it tough for him," Trent said. "That started with my pressure, I had great help at the rim with Brook. Giannis was helping as well, too. Dame had a great intensity on defense tonight. Same thing with ‘TP.’
"Our goal was to try to go out there and dominate from the number one standpoint start of the game and just continue to build with that and then roll with the punches that come with the game.”
On the other end, Trent added 11 points on 3-of-6 shooting -- but how he affected the game defensively from the top-down had his teammates raving.
“I thought he was fantastic," Lopez said. "He has all the tools to be so great for us defensively at the point of attack, and he has the right mentality for that too. He was great all night disrupting them, making them tough for them. It’s the point of attack, that’s the start of our defense and he’s great and that trickles down to everyone else.”
Did you notice?
At the 7:41 mark of the second quarter Bucks forward Pat Connaughton skied in for a dunk off a Portis assist to give the Bucks a 33-31 lead. On the surface it may not seem like much, but Connaughton had just eight dunks each of the last two seasons. He had 29 the year he was a participant in the 2020 all-star slam dunk contest, but over the last four seasons he’s been a bit more ground bound. At least in the opener, Connaughton was able to get to the basket as a cutter.
Five numbers
6: Blocked shots forLopez. He swatted six shots on seven different occasions last season.
27: Assists for the Bucks on 43 made field goals.
70: Percent shooting for Portis (7 for 10). The Sixth Man of the Year candidate had a hot-shooting preseason and that carried over into the regular season opener.
21-9: Run in the second quarter for the Bucks that broke a 33-33 tie and gave them a 54-42 lead.Lillard: "To start the game, it’s the first game of the season, it’s a road game, the crowd is into it. There’s going to be energy in the building. It’s that excitement. Everybody is optimistic. And they came out like that. Both teams kind of struggled to score to start the game and I think in the second quarter our ball movement picked up. Once we started to move the ball, guys get into rotations. We’ve got those two big guys taking up space in the paint, they gotta come help, we getting weakside shots. We played the right way and those mismatches kind of became evident as far as the size and we was able to just kind of have our way with those things and we kind of carried our way from there.”
2008: Draft class of Bucks center Brook Lopez and 76ers center Andre Drummond and guard Eric Gordon. All three started on Wednesday night. Denver guard Russell Westbrook is the only other player from that class currently playing in the NBA.
What TV channel is the Bucks game on?
The Bucks open the season on national television, as the game will be broadcast on ESPN. Mike Breen, Doris Burke, Richard Jefferson and Cassidy Hubbarth will be on the call.
Analysis: Should the Milwaukee Bucks actually have championship expectations?
What is the latest on Khris Middleton?
The three-time all-star has yet to practice in a five-on-five setting, so Middleton was ruled out for the season opener. Beginning Wednesday night, the Bucks will play four games in four cities over six days, so finding practice time may be difficult for the forward to be cleared for game action.
"Listen, like in the playoffs, you want everybody to be healthy. You just do," Rivers said of the some of the game's stars being unavailable to play. "That's the nature of the game. We don't have Khris Middleton tonight. So, there's injuries all around. It just seems like there are more injuries now than there were in the past. We have to figure that out and I think everybody's trying to do that."
Are Joel Embiid and Paul George playing for 76ers?
No. The 76ers ruled their MVP center and newly signed all-star out for the game. Embiid is still recovering from an offseason knee issue that came up after the Olympics while George injured a knee in a preseason game.
Embiid had said during the preseason he will not play in back-to-back games this season and had already been ruled out for the first three games of this season -- which perhaps prompted an NBA investigation into his health. ESPN reported before the game the league was going to look into whether or not the 76ers have violated the player participation policy.
"I don't care one way or the other. Obviously I'm not coaching here so it's not a concern for me. But, whatever works for Joel is what you have to do. You can't worry about the noise. If that's going to work and that makes him healthy for the playoffs, I don't think there's a person that wouldn't sign on for that. If it works or not I can't give you the answer to that."
Bucks injury report
Khris Middleton, out (surgeries on both ankles)
Giannis Antetokounmpo, probable (right patella tendinitis)
76ers injury report
Joel Embiid, out (left knee injury management)
Paul George, out (left knee bone bruise)
Bucks starting lineup
Guards: Damian Lillard, Gary Trent
Forwards: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Taurean Prince
Center: Brook Lopez
Bucks vs. 76ers odds
The Bucks are 3.5-point favorites, per Bet MGM. The over/under is 223.5 points.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Bucks use size to dominate 76ers in 124-109 season-opening win
