Milwaukee Bucks Help Sixers Out by Defeating Brooklyn Nets Back to Back

Coming into the 2020-2021 NBA season, expectations were low for the Philadelphia 76ers. After former Sixers head coach Brett Brown made it known Philly had expectations of locking in the first seed in the Eastern Conference last year, the Sixers couldn't live up to their own hype.

Philly placed in the sixth seed last season and faced the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs. By now, we all know how their time went down in the bubble. In four games, the Sixers couldn't pick up a single win -- and Philly found themselves eliminated from the postseason in no time.

When the 2020-2021 season got its start back in December, nobody knew what to expect from the Doc Rivers-led Sixers. With expectations at a new low since the process days, the Sixers started to exceed them with ease. And for the last couple of months, the 76ers have been battling back and forth with the Eastern Conference favorites, the Brooklyn Nets, for the top seed.

Just as the Sixers gained the tie-breaker over the Nets with a win back in April, they soon fell out of the top seed after going on a four-game losing streak a couple of weeks ago. However, Philly's recent five-game winning streak put them back ahead, and they got a little help from another Eastern Conference foe, the Milwaukee Bucks too.

Recently, the Nets had to take on the Milwaukee Bucks for a two-game series at the Fiserv Forum. The first game occurred on Sunday afternoon. Although it was a tight battle between the two powerhouses, the Bucks came out on top and won 117-114. A few hours later, the Sixers took care of business against the San Antonio Spurs before defeating the Chicago Bulls the following night.

On Tuesday, the Bucks and the Nets faced off once again. It was another close matchup between the two squads, but the James Harden-less Nets couldn't get the job done once again as they fell short by losing 124-118.

With that Brooklyn loss, the Sixers officially go up 1.5 games on the Nets for the first seed with seven games left to go. The 76ers continue their schedule on Wednesday night with a game against the Houston Rockets on the road. As long as they don't hit another multi-game skid as they did two weeks ago, the Sixers have great odds of locking in the East's first seed this season.

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