January 07, 2015
PHILADELPHIA — Brandon Knight and Khris Middleton scored 18 points apiece, and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the 76ers, 97-77, on Wednesday night.
The Bucks (19-18) shot 53.9 percent from the field in their fifth consecutive road win. Zaza Pachulia had 11 points and 12 rebounds, and reserve O.J. Mayo added 15 points.
K.J. McDaniels scored 14 points and Nerlens Noel had 13 for the Sixers (5-29), who were trying to win consecutive home games for the first time since the start of the 2013-14 season.
The Sixers shot 30.1 percent from the field. Starters Michael Carter-Williams (1 for 13), Robert Covington (1 for 11) and Henry Sims (1 for 8) had particularly bad nights.
After 14 straight losses at the Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia beat Cleveland 95-92 on Monday for its first home win of the season. But the Sixers got off to a slow start against Milwaukee, falling behind by 16 after the Bucks closed the first quarter on a 17-2 run, capped by a Mayo 3-pointer right before the buzzer.
The Sixers opened the second quarter with an 11-2 spurt, but the Bucks used a few transition buckets to rebuild their lead, before taking a comfortable 53-39 advantage into halftime.
Milwaukee shot 59.5 percent from the floor in the first half, while the Sixers shot 28.3 percent.
The Bucks then scored the first nine points of the third period. Knight had a big transition dunk to put the Bucks up by 24 with five minutes left in the game - and then skipped all the way to the Milwaukee sideline in celebration.
Bucks: Milwaukee got 37 points from its reserves, including 23 in the first half. . Center Larry Sanders missed his eighth straight game due to personal reasons. . The Bucks have won four straight over the Sixers.
76ers: Tony Wroten, the subject of recent trade rumors, told reporters before the game that he is "auditioning for everybody." But Philly's high-scoring guard then missed his first seven shots and finished the game with 12 points on 4-for-19 shooting. ... The Sixers registered just 11 points in the first quarter, with only three players scoring - Noel, Carter-Williams and McDaniels.
Bucks: Host the Timberwolves on Friday.
76ers: Visit Brooklyn on Friday.
