By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor 
The Philadelphia 76ers (34-28) led by 20 in the first half and 19 during the early stages of the second, but the Milwaukee Bucks (34-29) scored 21 unanswered points to end the third quarter en route to a 118-110 win. The victory for the Bucks moves them to within a half a game of the Sixers for sixth place in the East. Meanwhile, the Sixers were unable to capitalize on a Wizards loss to take over the fifth spot.
Turnovers have been an issue that the Sixers have been working on and cutting down on, especially since the All-Star Break. Unfortunately, they reverted to their old habits tonight in Milwaukee, coughing the ball up a season-high 26 times, resulting in 36 Bucks points. The Sixers were also uncharacteristically out-rebounded by six. Combine the turnovers with the additional possessions from the rebounds, and the Bucks were able to take 25 more shots than the Sixers. Philly shot 55.7 percent from the floor and 50 percent from beyond, but still lost by eight. Yuck.
The Bucks were led by none other than Giannia Antetokounmpo, who finished the game with 35 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Eric Bledsoe contributed with 22 while Jabari Parker came off the bench to score 13 in the winning effort.
For the Sixers, the lone bright spot was Dario Saric. On a night plagued with turnovers for Philadelphia, Dario had just two and scored a team-high 25 points on 9-for-11 shooting and 4-for-5 from beyond.
Joel Embiid (7), Ben Simmons (6) and J.J. Redick (5) combined for 18 of the team's 26 turnovers. Joel was forcing the issue all game, scoring 19 points on 6-for-12 shooting, missing all three attempts from beyond. Simmons finished with a double-double, 12 points and 15 assists while Redick had 17 points. The bench had a poor night. T.J. McConnell and Ersan Ilyasova finished with a -15 and -16, respectively.
Game Rewind:
The Sixers came out of the gates hot, hitting their first seven shots from the floor. They started the game on a 10-0 run and went up by as much as 20 in the first quarter, behind 15 points from Dario Saric. A 19-2 spurt gave them a 33-14 advantage with 4:18 to go in the first. Milwaukee responded with a 10-2 run to end the quarter, but Philadelphia led by 12, 43-31 after the first 12 minutes.
The second quarter was a bit slower to start for the Sixers as the Bucks staged a climbed to within six after a 12-6 scoring advantage to start the second. Milwaukee would end up outscoring the Sixers 20-8, tying the game at 51 with just over six minutes to play. Philadelphia wouldn't let up though as a McConnell jumper and Amir Johnson tip-in on the next possession put them back up by four. Marco Belinelli drained a triple with 4:38 left in the half to put them up seven. The Bucks got back to within four with 3:25 to go in the second, but the Sixers would not let them get any closer, putting together a 14-6 spurt to end the half, capped off by a Redick three-pointer. The Sixers maintained a 12-point advantage, 72-60, after a slow-to-start second.
Dario led Sixers scorers at the half with 15, not missing any of his six shots. J.J. was right behind him with 14 points on 4-for-5 shooting, including a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond. Embiid tallied 11 points in the first 24 minutes while Simmons dished out 11 assists. Marco Belinelli and Ersan Ilyasova, both signed over the last few weeks after reaching buyouts with the Hawks, each had seven at the mid-way point, shooting a combined 4-for-9.
Philadelphia didn't skip a beat to start the third, quickly extending their lead to 19 less than two minutes into the quarter thanks to two Simmons' makes and a Saric three. That would be their only bright spot in the third though. Milwaukee chipped at the Sixers lead, scoring eight unanswered to trail by 11 with 7:11 left in the third. Milwaukee cut the Sixers advantage back down to one with just under three minutes to play, erasing a one-time third quarter 19-point Philadelphia lead. 23-5 run for the Bucks after being down by 19. Milwaukee took their first lead of the game, 87-86, with 1:52 left in the third. The Bucks ended the quarter with 21 unanswered points, taking a 93-86 lead into the final 12 minutes. Philadelphia went scoreless in the final 6:32 of the third.
Milwaukee extended their lead to nine, 100-91, with 9:34 left in the game after the Sixers managed to score five straight. Covington hit a three to cut the Bucks lead to four, but Eric Bledsoe responded with a three of his own to keep their lead at seven, 105-98. Turnovers continued to haunt the Sixers, with the Bucks extending their lead to 114-100 with just under five minutes in this one.
Up Next:
The Sixers continue their four-game road trip with a stop in Charlotte for a matchup with the Hornets on Tuesday. They defeated Charlotte at home this past Friday night, staging a comeback in the fourth to win by 11.
