Joel Embiid Dominates as Sixers Upset Bucks in Milwaukee Before the Break

Coming off of a brutal loss at home against the Boston Celtics, the road didn’t get much easier for the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday. With one game to go before the 2022 NBA All-Star break, the Sixers had to pay a visit to the defending NBA Champions, the Milwaukee Bucks.

The first time the Sixers and the Bucks met was back in November. At the time, the Sixers didn’t have Joel Embiid on the court as he was in the midst of a nine-game absence due to COVID-19. As one would expect, the Bucks were able to defeat the Embiid-less Sixers 118-109. That marked the sixth-straight game the Bucks defeated the Sixers.

On Thursday, Milwaukee got off to an ideal start for themselves as they outscored the Sixers 27-24. Embiid, along with Tobias Harris, kept the Sixers in the game as they combined for 22 of Philadelphia's 24 points in the first quarter.

While Harris didn’t maintain his scoring in the second quarter, Embiid did. With a little help from the second-year guard Tyrese Maxey, the 76ers rallied in the second quarter and dropped 45 points on the Bucks before heading into the half with a 69-61 lead.

When the third quarter rolled around, Milwaukee managed to go point for point with the Sixers. While both teams scored 32 in the third, the Sixers never lost the lead coming out of the half. It wasn’t until the fourth quarter when things got really interesting.

Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo had himself a stellar fourth quarter as he went 6-7 from the field and totaled for 16 points. Thanks to the former MVP’s contributions, the Bucks managed to put up 27 points in the final quarter of the outing.

However, Embiid led the charge for his team and put up nine points of his own. While the lead changed twice in the fourth quarter after the Sixers allowed the Bucks out in front, Philadelphia managed to get the final strike on the scoreboard. In the end, the Sixers came away with a 123-120 victory over the Bucks to even the regular-season series at one win.

Joel Embiid, who checked into the game for 37 minutes, dominated as usual as he put up 42 points on 14-21 shooting. From beyond the arc, the superstar big man knocked down three of his four shots. And from the charity stripe, Embiid collected 11 points. In addition to his scoring, Embiid secured the double-double with 14 rebounds.

With that win, the Sixers improve to 35-23 on the year and move on up in the Eastern Conference standings. Next up, Embiid heads to Cleveland to participate in his fifth All-Star game. After that, he’ll get four days off before taking the court again next Friday.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.