Bucks – Sixers: Damian Lillard (39 points) is already setting the record straight!

The absence of James Harden still hangs over Philadelphia but the Sixers still held out against the Bucks of Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo thanks to Tyrese Maxey (31 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds) ready to become Joel’s Robin “Batman” Embiid. Kelly Oubre Jr (27 points) made a strong impression coming off the bench.

Behind an aggressive defensive scheme, with systematic double-takes on Joël Embiid, the Bucks limit the Philadelphia holders to 6/15 shots in the first quarter. On the other hand, it is the efficiency of the Antetokounmpo – Lopez – Portis trio which allows Milwaukee to take the lead. It takes ten points from Kelly Oubre Jr off the bench to limit the damage for the Sixers (30-23).

To the delight of the Fiserv Forum, Damian Lillard then took matters into his own hands. He scored 17 points in the second quarter, 4/7 from distance including a 3+1, to put his new team at +19 (57-38). With their backs to the wall, the Sixers found a little skill and 11 points from Tyrese Maxey allowed them to finish the half with a 16-6 lead to stay in ambush (63-54).

The Sixers go on the attack, Damian Lillard gets everyone in agreement

Embiid then returns to the field with other intentions. He scores 8 of his team’s first 11 points in the third quarter to bring the Sixers back to one possession, but Giannis Antetokounmpo responds to give Milwaukee some breathing space (80-70). Nick Nurse’s men, however, took advantage of the Greek’s fourth foul and Lillard’s exit to come back once again. Tyrese Maxey then attacks the circle relentlessly, the Sixers hit the mark from afar, and the suspense is complete before the home stretch (88-85).

With the wind in their sails, the Sixers pass a 14-0 to their opponent thanks to the duo Maxey – Oubre Jr to throw a chill in the Bucks room (102-94)! Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo, however, stop the bleeding before responding like a boss. They score 13 points in a row to launch a scathing 19-2 (113-104). Maxey and Embiid attempt a last stand but another winning shot from Lillard followed by two decisive free throws gives the Bucks victory.

TO REMEMBER

– Milwaukee already at the time of “Dame Time”. 17 points in the second quarter, 14 in money time, and 39 points in total, a new franchise record during a first appearance in the Bucks jersey. Damian Lillard couldn’t have asked for a better first match and neither could Bucks fans. The contribution of the former Blazer was particularly felt at the end of the match when Milwaukee played the same system, a high double screen for Lillard, which the Sixers were unable to stop. A good omen for the Bucks.

– Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joël Embiid in training. Both MVPs finished with almost identical stat lines. 23 points and 13 rebounds for the Buck, 24 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists for the Sixer. They also each lost 7 balls against two aggressive defenses. Embiid in particular was silent in the final quarter, unable to stop the Bucks’ decisive run earlier.

– First for Nick Nurse and Adrian Griffin. After the firings of Doc Rivers and Mike Budenholzer this summer, Nick Nurse and Adrian Griffin made their debuts tonight for their new team. The two coaches, both from Toronto where Griffin was Nurse’s assistant, gave us an overview of their playing philosophy for Philadelphia and Milwaukee, and we can’t wait to see how these two teams will evolve during the regular season.

TOPS/FLOPS

✅ Damian Lillard. Man of the night for Milwaukee. Lillard started his new chapter with flying colors after 11 seasons in Portland.

✅ Tyrese Maxey. Forget James Harden! Maxey continues to demonstrate that he can be the leader of the Sixers. He finished the game with 31 points and 8 assists.

✅ Tobias Harris. Discreet but effective, Harris scored 20 points on 8/9 shots, all accompanied by 7 rebounds.

✅ Kelly Oubre Jr. The Sixers rookie kept his team in the game for a long time in the first half, before coming to support Maxey and Embiid to widen the gap. He finished with 27 points on 9/11 on shots, and 5/6 on 3-pointers.

⛔ The Sixers bench. With the exception of Oubre Jr, the Sixers’ second five was non-existent (5 points), forcing Nurse to shoot his stars in the first game of the season.

Milwaukee / 118 Shots Rebounds Players Min Shots 3pts L.F. O D T Pd Party Int Bp Ct +/- Pts Eval G. Antetokounmpo 35 10/22 0/3 3/9 5 8 13 3 4 2 7 2 -13 23 18 K.Middleton 16 2/5 1/3 1/2 0 3 3 4 0 2 2 0 +14 6 9 B.Lopez 29 5/7 3/4 0/0 1 1 2 0 4 0 2 0 +11 13 11 D.Lillard 37 9/20 4/12 17/17 0 8 8 4 2 0 0 0 +12 39 40 Mr. Beasley 31 2/4 1/1 0/0 0 4 4 3 1 2 2 0 -5 5 10 J. Crowder 27 3/4 1/1 2/2 0 4 4 2 3 2 1 0 +11 9 15 B. Portis 19 5/8 0/0 0/4 2 4 6 2 3 0 0 1 -10 10 12 Mr. Beauchamp 16 2/3 0/1 0/0 1 1 2 0 3 0 0 0 -3 4 5 C. Payne 9 1/3 0/1 0/0 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 -7 2 1 P. Connaughton 20 2/6 1/4 2/2 0 2 2 2 0 0 0 1 -5 7 8 41/82 11/30 25/36 9 35 44 20 23 9 14 4 118 129

Philadelphia / 117 Shots Rebounds Players Min Shots 3pts L.F. O D T Pd Party Int Bp Ct +/- Pts Eval PJ Tucker 26 0/2 0/2 0/0 1 6 7 0 5 2 0 0 +2 0 7 T. Harris 37 8/9 3/3 1/2 0 7 7 2 2 0 2 0 -14 20 25 J. Embiid 36 9/21 3/7 3/8 0 7 7 6 5 0 7 1 -1 24 14 T.Maxey 40 10/22 3/8 8/10 0 4 4 8 3 2 0 0 0 31 31 D. Melton 25 3/10 2/6 2/2 1 1 2 4 2 2 1 0 -4 10 10 D.Green 14 0/1 0/1 0/0 0 2 2 1 0 1 0 0 +2 0 3 P. Reed 12 1/2 0/1 1/2 1 3 4 2 4 0 2 1 0 3 6 P. Beverley 14 1/1 0/0 0/0 0 2 2 2 2 0 0 0 +6 2 6 K. Oubre Jr. 32 9/11 5/6 4/4 1 3 4 0 4 1 3 0 +14 27 27 J.Springer 5 0/1 0/1 0/0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 -10 0 1 41/80 16/35 19/28 4 35 39 25 28 8 15 4 117 130

How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.