The Milwaukee Bucks came out on top 118-116 over the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night, in a game with big Eastern Conference ramifications. With the win, Milwaukee moves up to the No. 2 seed, just a half-game behind the Miami Heat. And the Sixers fall from the No. 2 seed to the No. 4 seed, 1.5 games behind Miami. Yes- four teams are within 1.5 games of each other for the top-four seeds. It’s a wild race, and with only two weeks left in the regular season.
And the conclusion of this huge game between two Eastern Conference powers fittingly came down to a play between two of the NBA’s best players.
After recently-acquired star James Harden missed a three for the Sixers with Milwaukee leading 118-116 in the final seconds, Joel Embiid got the offensive rebound. But Embiid’s layup was rejected on a fantastic block by Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Initially, it was ruled goaltending on Antetokounmpo and a game-tying bucket for Embiid with 1.6 seconds remaining. But replays showed that it was a clean, legal block.
So, the two points were taken off the board, and Philadelphia didn’t have time to get off a shot after winning the ensuing jump-ball at half-court.
Milwaukee outscored Philadelphia 67-55 in the second half — and 37-27 in the fourth quarter — to come away with the impressive road victory.
Along with making the defensive game-sealing play, Antetokounmpo led the way offensively for the Bucks. He scored 40 points (16-of-24 from the field), pulled down 14 rebounds, dished out six assists, and blocked three shots.
Here’s a look at how the NBA world reacted to The Greek Freak’s heroics and Milwaukee’s big win:
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.