Sixers 118-117: Monster Antetokounmpo, Lillard emerges and wins season opener for Milwaukee

The season premiere wasn’t easy for either of them. There are no easy nights this season in the NBA anyway. The Bucks and Sixers battled it out early Friday (10/27) at Fiserv Forum, with Milwaukee winning (118-117) thanks to an impressive showing by Damian Lillard in his official debut for the Dire.

Dam scored in a flurry, poured in 39 points in every possible way, wore down his opponents, finished the game with 17/17 shooting, was unbeatable in the fourth quarter and it was the shots that decided it all 118-114. All this without committing a single mistake (!) during the 37 minutes he spent on the field. Meanwhile, Giannis Antetokounmpo was filling out his starting lineup and passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in another category of organizational history, as Adrian Griffin gave Khris Middleton just 16 minutes to help him find his footing.

Great game from Therese Maxey (31 points, 8 assists) – Kelly Oubre (27 points, shooting Sept. 11) for the Sixers, who traveled to Wisconsin without James Harden and Joel Embiid in a less-than-ideal situation. The Philadelphia big man proved to be quite the heavyweight, both physically and mentally, finishing the game 24/7/6, but he also committed seven fouls and was no help when Nick Nurse really needed him. Overall, however, the Sixers’ image was very good, as they were able to hang on in parts of the game where others would have given up.

48-46 racket points, 18-20 surprise points, 32-32 substitution points, 16-17 opponent fouls, 12-3 second chance points.

The Bucks’ next opponent is the Hawks, in the early hours of Monday (10/30 at 02:00) back at Fiserv Forum. Where a day later, at dawn on Tuesday (10/31 03:00) the Stags will welcome Jimmy Butler’s Heat.

Antetokounmpo account

Embiid charged head-on on his first basket, took it immediately after his first shooting foul, redshirted a “good evening” and went to the bench to take his first breath after 4:48.

He came back at the end of the period but wasn’t as dominant. In the second half he opened up space for the unstoppable Lillard to take action. In the third he had homer battles with Embiid and in the end both were riddled with errors. The game didn’t go for him the way he had in mind and he didn’t try. But he was great defensively and had his goal scoring skills as well.

He came up with two big baskets in the fourth, tied it at 102-102 with a hook, assisted Lillard on a 3-pointer (105-104), hit the foul shot in the next period and then passed the baton to Lillard, who cleaned up the laundry with a stunning display.

• 23 points
• 10/19 2 points
• 0/3 Three-pointers
• 3/9 shots
• 13 rebounds
• 3 assists
• 2 steals
• 2 blocks
• In 35 minutes

Dodecalypta: 30-23, 63-54, 88-85, 118-117

Milwaukee Bucks (Adrian Griffin): Middleton 6 (1 3-pointer, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals in 16 minutes), Antetokounmpo 23 (10/19 2 shots, 3/9 steals, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals). 2 blocks, 7 fouls), Lopez 13 (3/4 3-pointers), Beasley 5 (1 3-pointers, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals), Lillard 39 (5/8 2-pointers, 4/12 3-pointers) – throws , 17/17 shots, 8 rebounds, 4 assists in 37:13), Crowder 9 (1 triple, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals), Connaughton 7 (1), Portis 10 (6 rebounds, 2). Assists), Payne 2, Beauchamp 4

Philadelphia 76ers (Nick Nurse): Harris 20 (5/6 2-pointers, 3/3 3-pointers, 1/2 shot, 7 rebounds, 2 assists), Tucker, Embiid 24 (6/14 2-pointers, 7/3 3-pointers). – Points, 3/8 shots, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 7 turnovers in 36:26), Milton 10 (2), Maxey 31 (3 3-pointers, 4 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals), Oubre 27 ( 5) /6 3-pointers), Green, Beverley 2, Reed 3, Springer

Milwaukee Bucks team statistics: 30/52 2-pointers, 11/30 3-pointers, 25/36 shots, 54 rebounds, 20 assists, 9 steals, 4 blocks, 14 turnovers, 23 fouls

Philadelphia 76ers statistics: 25/45 2-pointers, 16/35 3-pointers, 19/28 shots, 46 rebounds, 25 assists, 8 steals, 4 blocks, 15 turnovers, 28 fouls