By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor 
No Joel Embiid, no JJ Redick, no problem.
The Philadelphia 76ers (52-30) closed out their regular season on Wednesday night with a dominating win over the Milwaukee Bucks, 130-96. The victory was their 16th in a row, their 23rd win in the last 24 games in Philadelphia and it secured the three seed in the East. The Sixers made NBA history, putting together the longest winning streak entering the playoffs.
The Sixers forced 20 Bucks turnovers, resulting in 31 points. They outscored Milwaukee in the paint by 30 (72-42), shot 41.9 percent from beyond the arc and assisted on 35 of the 52 made field goals.
With the Sixers getting the win, they secured the third spot in the East. Miami defeated top-seed Toronto in overtime, setting up a first-round series between the Sixers and Heat beginning on Saturday. Philadelphia and Miami split their season series 2-2 with the Sixers winning the first two and the Heat winning the last two. Three of the four games were decided by six points or less.
Markelle Fultz, just 14 games into his young NBA career, tallied his first career triple-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. He's the youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double. Lonzo Ball had previously held the accolade. Fultz was properly doused with water prior to his post-game interview.
The Sixers made history tonight.
Markelle Fultz recorded the triple- double and his teammates showered him with water during his interview with @MollySullivanTV. pic.twitter.com/xehsOzyP9k
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) April 12, 2018
🎶 This magic moment 🎶@MarkelleF becomes the youngest player to ever record a triple-double. #HereTheyCome pic.twitter.com/llG7gsWHBp
— x – Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) April 12, 2018
Dario Saric had 17 points in the first half and finished with 24 while Justin Anderson had a tremendous night off the bench with 25 points. Richaun Holmes and T.J. McConnell were both phenomenal off the bench as well, scoring 19 and 16, respectively.
With JJ Redick ruled out prior to the game with lower back tightness, a number of guys stepped up and this game wasn't even close. Marco Belinelli scored 13 in place of Redick in the starting lineup and Ben Simmons only had four points on the night, making the win even more impressive without Embiid and JJ.
The @sixers 76 bench points tonight set a new franchise-high, breaking the previous-best of 75 on March 8, 1981 vs. Milwaukee.
h/t @EliasSports, which began tracking the stat in 73-74.
— Sixers Stats (@SixersStats) April 12, 2018
The Sixers started off strong, jumping out to a 16-6 lead behind and eight-point surge from Dario Saric with 7:31 to go in the first quarter. Ben Simmons committed his second foul with still more than six minutes to play in the quarter, but the Sixers kept their foot on the gas pedal, extending their lead to 15 with 5:03 80-44left. A 17-0 run upped their advantage to 25 with just over two minutes left in the first. After 12 minutes, the Sixers were up 46-18.
Philadelphia kept rolling in the second, starting the quarter on a 24-11 run to extend their lead to 39 with 3:49 to go in the half. After the first two quarters, the Sixers led 80-44.
Dario Saric led the hafltime scorers with 17 one day after suffering a lip laceration and a chipped tooth. Marco Belinelli and Richaun Holmes each had 11 while Markelle Fultz played 10 minutes and tallied nine points, six assists and three rebounds. The Sixers shot 11-for-24 from beyond the arc and 58.5 percent from the floor. Philadelphia led by as many as 30 in the first quarter, the largest first quarter lead for any team since the 2013-14 Clippers took a 31-point lead against the 76ers, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
The defense was stifling on Bucks phenom Giannis Antetokounmpo, holding him to just six points through two quarters of play. Jabari Parker was high-man at the half for the Bucks with 16.
The Bucks managed to slightly outscored the Sixers in the third, but Philadelphia still led by a large margin of 30, 105-75. The Sixers ran their second unit for the majority of the fourth and they outscored the Bucks by five, closing out a dominant 35-point win.
Jabari Parker finished with 25 to lead the Bucks offense. Giannis finished with just 10 points.
