3 observations after Sixers lose to Bucks despite Bona’s 28-point night originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The best performance of Adem Bona’s rookie season wasn’t enough to lead the Sixers to an improbable victory Thursday night.
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The Bucks came back to earn a 126-113 win at Wells Fargo Center and improved to 42-34.
The Sixers fell to 23-54 despite Bona posting 28 points on 13-for-15 shooting, six rebounds, three blocks and two steals.
Quentin Grimes tallied 24 points and 10 assists. Guerschon Yabusele added 22 points.
Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo had a huge night with 35 points, 20 assists and 17 rebounds.
The Sixers remained highly shorthanded. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Thursday that Tyrese Maxey (right finger sprain) is expected to miss the rest of the season. Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said pregame that the team’s medical team had only told him Maxey was out vs. Milwaukee.
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The Sixers will host the Timberwolves on Saturday night. Here are observations on their loss to the Bucks:
With a Bona dunk and a pair of Jared Butler corner three-pointers, the Sixers jumped out to an 8-0 lead.
Bona guarded Antetokounmpo and played a stellar first quarter on both ends. Defensively, he was solid across the board — in isolation on Antetokounmpo’s powerful, long-striding drives; on post-ups; as a rim protector.
Offensively, Bona scored efficiently and with impressive variety. He finished a lefty layup out of the pick-and-roll; sunk a short jump hook; faked a dribble handoff and then drove in for an and-one bucket; drop stepped into a simple lay-in over Kevin Porter Jr.
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All told, Bona racked up 12 points in the first quarter on 6-for-7 shooting. The Sixers went up 39-22 late in the first on a Lonnie Walker IV mid-range jumper.
Bona obviously enjoyed matching up against Antetokounmpo and did excellent work with the opportunity. Back on Jan. 9, he was asked whether he’d had a favorite NBA moment involving an opposing star.
“There’s a couple guys that I really looked up to coming into the league,” Bona said. “Playing against Giannis. I didn’t have the opportunity to do anything against him (on opening night). He got subbed out right away, but I shared the court with him, so I can say that.”
He did much more than technically share the floor with Antetokounmpo on Thursday.
The Bucks eventually woke up, storming in front with an 18-0 run that began in the final minutes of the first quarter.
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As soon as new Sixers 10-day contract signing Colin Castleton checked in, Antetokounmpo capped Milwaukee’s run by exploding past him and throwing down a dunk.
The Sixers recovered before the Bucks could build a sizable lead, but Antetokounmpo had a dominant second quarter. His driving layup on Bona with 5.3 seconds left in the second gave Milwaukee a 61-59 edge and put Antetokounmpo at 20 points.
The Bucks need Antetokounmpo to run the show even more than usual with Damian Lillard out indefinitely because of deep vein thrombosis in his right calf. As the nine-time All-Star showed against the Sixers, he’s comfortable doing it all.
Bona walked back to the locker room with Sixers head athletic trainer Kevin Johnson at the 10:10 mark of the third quarter.
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Whatever the issue, he was cleared to come back a few minutes later and played fantastic basketball as soon as he re-entered. Bona helped the Sixers quickly wipe out a 10-point deficit. He flexed and shouted in celebration after a put-back, and-one layup.
Another Sixer headed down the tunnel late in the third quarter. Walker walked off very gingerly after appearing to grab in pain at the area around his right ankle and asking to be subbed out. He did not return.
The Bucks restored a double-digit lead on an AJ Green three early in the fourth quarter. Shortly after, Nurse got ejected.
He seemed to pick up a technical foul for voicing his disagreement about a goaltending call on Bona. Nurse’s second tech came just 18 seconds later.
Assistant coach Bryan Gates took charge for the rest of the game, the Bucks maintained their lead, and the Sixers ultimately set a new season high with 10 straight losses.
