In a game doomed from the start, the Philadelphia 76ers fell miserably to the Milwaukee Bucks, 132-94. Philly was without both Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. Ben has been fighting a mysterious flu during the Sixers difficult stretch, and Joel has shoulder soreness and was a last-minute out. With this loss, Philly loses their fourth straight and continues to lose ground on a pivotal race for first place in the East. 

I am willing to pay Doc Rivers all of the money I own to not pay Mike Scott any more meaningful minutes for the rest of his Sixers tenure. Anthony Tolliver was brought in to help combat this, but he mainly played garbage minutes during tonight’s game. For Scott, he had a monster three points in 15 minutes and was a black hole on defense. 

The rest of the starting five didn’t do much better either. Seth Curry led the group with 13 points, and his scoring brought the Sixers within one point of the Bucks during the third. Despite his efforts, Milwaukee stormed back out and made it a double-digit lead almost immediately. Tobias Harris had just nine points in 26 minutes.

Milwaukee, with these wins, is closing in on the Sixers for second in the East. They are just 2.5 games behind the Nets and a game and a half behind Philly. Following this game, the Sixers have a much easier path to end the season and will have every opportunity to finish first in the Eastern Conference. For Milwaukee and Brooklyn, they play each other twice in early May. The 76ers return to action on Monday, facing the Oklahoma City Thunder at home, hoping to capture their 40th win this season.

Mandatory Credit: Morry Gash AP Photo