The Sixers played a far better basketball game on Thursday night than the sort of displays they have shown for much of the last two months. They saw major flashes from a young player who could be a key piece moving forward. And they lost, bolstering a tanking effort which is in its final days.

What else can you ask for? Here’s what stood out from the Sixers’ 126-113 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night, including some interesting pregame comments about the Sixers’ two best players’ mysterious injury statuses:

Nick Nurse weighs in on Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey news

As the Sixers’ head coach, Nurse was the only member of the team brass available to comment on recent updates about the team’s two most important players: that Joel Embiid is set for another procedure on his left knee, an arthroscopic surgery, and that Tyrese Maxey is expected to be ruled out for the remainder of the season due to his finger sprain. Frankly, Nurse’s pregame media availability at 5:15 p.m. was going to far more interesting and revealing than anything that happened on the court.

Nurse said he did not have specific details on how Embiid and the team of doctors and officials deliberating on the course of action for his knee landed on the treatment plan that they did, just reiterating that Embiid and the team sought many opinions and gathered as much information as they could. He acknowledged there was concern about Embiid moving forward, but only in that the team has concern about any player who requires a procedure of any kind.

Moments later, Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers — the man Nurse replaced at the helm for the Sixers after the 2022-23 season — said that when the Sixers faced the Bucks in Milwaukee in February, Embiid told him on the court that the former MVP believed he would need surgery at the end of the season. Embiid gave a similar quote to ESPN sideline reporter Lisa Salters prior to that game.

“I feel bad for him,” Rivers said of the player he helped transform into one of the most dominant forces in recent NBA history and called “as talented as anyone I’ve ever coached.”

Interestingly, though, Nurse did not outright dispute ESPN’s report about Maxey, but was adamant that Maxey had only been ruled out for Thursday’s game and that nothing had changed his day-to-day status. For what it’s worth, ESPN insider Shams Charania said his reporting was confirmed on Thursday by Tyrese Maxey’s agent, Rich Paul. Paul heads Klutch Sports, the agency which represents Nurse. However, Nurse stood his ground that no ultimate determination had been made.

“First of all, he’s just out for this evening,” Nurse said. “… He did receive more imaging as well, but our medical just told me he’s out for tonight.”

Nurse was asked if ESPN’s report was inaccurate.

“I don’t know,” Nurse said. “I’m just telling you what they told me: that he’s out for this evening.”

Some reading between the lines: the NBA has been noticeably diligent in watching teams who could be tanking, and have already conducted multiple investigations into the Sixers. Perhaps the path of least resistance for the Sixers is to drag this out.

Adem Bona meets the moment against Giannis Antetkoumpo

Bona has spoken on multiple occasions about his admiration for Antetokoummpo, so it was cool to see Bona draw the assignment of the two-time MVP for the second time this season. Bona’s combination of size and mobility make him at least theoretically capable of defending Antetokoummpo in a way that the vast majority of NBA players can. Aside from one ill-advised foul (after a whistle Bona was not pleased with), the rookie center did a good job forcing Antetokoummpo to work for everything early on. In fact, Nurse made a point from the outset to mirror Bona’s minutes with those of Antetokoumpo, meaning whenever Antetokoumpo was on the floor, Nurse made sure Bona was in there to check him.

But Bona made even more waves offensively early on to help the Sixers surge ahead with a surprisingly excellent two-way performance in the first quarter. The Sixers led Milwaukee 39-25 after a dozen minutes, building a lead that peaked at 17 points before the Bucks made their inevitable push to begin the second quarter. With 10 points, a few rebounds and incredibly active defense, Bona was at the center of it all, figuratively and literally.

Bona’s dominance extended into the second half, despite a brief trip to the locker room. He set a new career-high scoring total with his first basket of the half and ended up shattering that mark.

Each time Bona made a standout play, he exuded more enthusiasm than the time before — and make no mistake, energy will always be central to his game. Bona will be a fan favorite in Philadelphia for the same reason he was at UCLA — people gravitate towards him because he is easy to root for.

More importantly, with every game that passes Bona looks more comfortable playing in the NBA and more like someone who can handle all of the mental tasks that go with being an NBA center tasked with anchoring a defense and, in an offense often revolving around high-usage guards, making quick decisions in 4-on-3 situations. Bona has the requisite foundation to become a valuable rotation big in 2025-26, and it would be a boon for the Sixers if he pulls it off.

Odds and ends

Some more notes and takeaways from this one:

• Another update on the Sixers’ trio of two-way players, whose remaining days of available are dwindling: Jalen Hood-Schifino returned to the floor vs. Milwaukee, while Jeff Dowtin Jr. and Alex Reese did not dress on Thursday. Of the Sixers’ five remaining games, Hood-Schifino can be active for four of them, while Reese can suit up three more times and Dowtin can only dress for two of those games.

• Quentin Grimes did not score a ton of points during the Sixers’ hot start — ironic considering how many points he has poured in while trailing since joining the team nearly two months ago — but the fourth-year guard’s growth as an on-ball player remained evident. Nurse has spoken at length about wanting to evaluate Grimes’ skills as a playmaker at the point guard position; Grimes got the start at point guard against his former team on Tuesday night before Nurse pulled the plug at halftime. On Thursday, however, Grimes did a terrific job forcing the defense into rotation and making the proper read, collecting six assists in the first half alone and eventually notching his second double-double with the Sixers.

• Nurse and Jared Butler have never wavered that the 24-year-old is a far better shooter than his three-point percentages in the NBA have reflected, and they look more right with each game. Butler has been red-hot from beyond the arc of late, and continued that stretch with three triples prior to intermission.

If he is as reliable of a long-range shooter as the pristine nature of his mechanics indicate he should be, Butler has a much better chance of sticking in the NBA.

“As a shooter, it’s so funny, playing basketball for however many years, like, I’ve always been able to shoot the ball,” Butler said last week. “A lot of times [one must] give it time, give it patience, and I’m glad it’s falling, knocking down, and just keep going with it.”

Butler was asked how difficult it can be to trust his work and the ability he knows he has when the results are not there just yet.

“I’m in my room, in the shower, like, stressed out,” Butler said. “…The thing I say is, ‘It’s not going to get better unless I shoot more. So I can’t not shoot anymore, or else my shooting percentage is going to be what it is.’ That’s the mindset that’s helped overcome it.”

Up next: The Sixers have five games left, and the next will come on Saturday night, when they host Anthony Edwards and the surging Minnesota Timberwolves.

Follow Adam on Twitter: @SixersAdam

Follow PhillyVoice on Twitter: @thephillyvoice