The Milwaukee Bucks kicked off their season on Thursday with a 118-117 win against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Both teams were sporting some new looks on their teams. The Bucks have new head coach Adrian Griffin after the firing of Mike Budenholzer, and of course, the swap of Jrue Holiday for superstar Damian Lillard.
On the side of the Sixers, they replaced former head coach Doc Rivers with former Toronto Raptors head coach Nike Nurse. While the Sixers didn’t add any new hot names to their roster, they were noticeably without all-star James Harden, who stayed back from the road trip.
Coach Griffin had spent the last five seasons as an assistant coach on the Toronto Raptors, so Thursday marked the first time his own team would play against his former boss’s team, who now manages a new team as well.
Bucks & 76ers: “The Intensity was very high”
The 76ers were able to put up a good fight against a looking Milwaukee Bucks, but ultimately the Bucks came out on top, with Damian Lillard scoring 39 points, a new franchise record for someone making their debut in a Bucks uniform. Two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo said the 76ers brought the fire under Nick Nurse on Thursday.
“[The intensity], it was very high,” said Antetokounmpo. “I think it was almost like a playoff game. Obviously, season opener, a lot of people are anxious. It’s the first game of the season and you want to start well. You want to play, and you want to play well.”
Milwaukee was able to get off and running from the jump of the game, carrying a significant lead over Philadelphia as much as 19 points as they went into the second quarter. Before halftime, the Sixers were able to come back and get within single digits.
Philly kept the fight going all the way through the end, Tyrese Maxey scoring 18 points in 20 minutes of play in the second half, Tobias Harris went 6-for-6 perfect shooting, and Joel Embiid ended his night with 24 points for the 76ers.
They were even to hold off Antetokounmpo to only 6-for-15 shooting in his last 18 minutes of the matchup. He said it was a totally different look from what he’s seen in the past from Philly.
“Totally different look from Philadelphia that’s been used in the past,” said Antetokounmpo. “They were way more aggressive defensively, showing way more crowd, trap in the pick and roll, showing more help in the post.”
This is the first of three matchups we will see between the Buck and the Sixers, but Giannis told media that he’s remaining on high alert as the season goes on, paying respect to his opponents for putting on a good fight.
“They were a totally different team than they were last year,” Antetokounmpo said. “That was a surprise. Their intensity was high for sure today.”
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