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 Guard O.J. Mayo scored 25 points off the bench Monday as the
Bucks built a 29-point halftime lead and breezed to a 130-110
victory over the skidding Sixers.
The Bucks improved their league-worst record to 11-45. The 76ers,
owners of the second-worst mark, fell to 15-42 with their 11th
straight loss.
Forward Ersan Ilyasova added 20 points for the Bucks, who had lost
six of their previous seven games, and their previous 10 on the
road. Now 5-22 away from home, they shot a season-best 57.1 percent
from the field and put seven players in double figures en route to
their highest point total since they scored 131 against Charlotte on
April 1, 2013.
Milwaukee, which enjoyed advantages of 72-24 in bench scoring and
26-12 on second-chance points, also won by its largest margin of the
season.
Guard Ramon Sessions, acquired last week from Charlotte, scored 16
points for Milwaukee, while guard/forward Khris Middleton and guard
Brandon Knight had 15 each.
"I just take them any time, any way I can get them," coach Larry
Drew said of the victory. "We take them any time, whether we're at
home, whether we're on the road."
Drew was particularly pleased that his team matched the Sixers'
effort. That had been a concern coming into the game, though
Philadelphia coach Brett Brown said his club was "extraordinarily
poor" in that department — and indeed the Sixers appeared as sleepy
as the fan who dozed off in his baseline seat early in the second
half.
Eight of the defeats in their 11-game slide have been by double
digits, with five by 20 points or more.
"We can't blink," Brown said. "We've had a lot of nights like this,
haven't we? You can't blink."
Other than a Thaddeus Young-charged run in the third quarter,
Philadelphia was consistently out-hustled, as the Bucks' 47-28
rebounding advantage shows. Milwaukee also had no problem solving
the Sixers' league-worst defense.
"I get very frustrated, especially when we're taking loss after
loss," said Young, a veteran forward. "Everything's not going to
work out how you want it to, or how everybody thinks it should. You
just have to take it day by day and continue to go out and play."
Young finished with 28 points, 16 coming in the third period. He
also had a career-high seven assists, along with six steals and five
rebounds.
Guards Michael Carter-Williams and Tony Wroten had 20 and 19 points
for Philadelphia, respectively.
Carter-Williams notched 10 points as the Sixers moved to a 28-26
lead late in the first quarter, but Milwaukee's bench fueled a 19-3
run that bridged the first two periods and gave the Bucks a 45-31
lead.
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Forward Giannis Antetokounmpo had five of his 13 points in that run,
and he and two other young forwards, John Henson and Jeff Adrien,
energized Milwaukee with their play in the period, again and again
keeping balls alive on the offensive glass.
Henson finished the night with 12 points, and Adrien had six points
and 10 boards for the Bucks, who owned a 17-7 rebounding advantage
in that quarter, turning seven offensive rebounds into 16
second-chance points.
Mayo also contributed nine points in the period, all on 3-pointers,
as Milwaukee outscored the Sixers 43-16 to build a 73-44 halftime
lead. It was the highest-scoring quarter and half of the season for
the Bucks, who rang up 22 second-chance points in the half, while
the Sixers managed four.
Philadelphia's second-quarter frustrations were typified on any
number of plays. On one possession, Wroten missed two dunks. On
another, Wroten and Carter-Williams collided while chasing a
defensive rebound, with the ball trickling out of bounds to
Milwaukee.
On yet another, Mayo executed a neat drop pass to Knight for a
fast-break dunk.
Despite Young's heroics, the Sixers could get no closer than 23 in
the third quarter, and Mayo's four-point play with 3.9 seconds left
pushed Milwaukee's advantage to 106-75.
The Bucks extended their lead to as many as 35 in the fourth
quarter.
NOTES: No decision was made as to whether the Sixers will buy out
the contract of veteran F Danny Granger, acquired last Thursday in a
trade with the Indiana Pacers. Granger has been in Philadelphia
since Saturday, and during that time, he took a physical and met
with coach Brett Brown and GM Sam Hinkie. He was not in the arena
Monday night, however, and Brown said the goal now is to "sort out
what's going to be best for both parties." The coach said an
announcement could come as soon as Tuesday. ... Milwaukee F Caron
Butler sat out for the sixth time in eight games due to a sore left
ankle. ... Bucks coach Larry Drew played on seven losing teams in 10
NBA seasons, the worst a 12-70 Los Angeles Clippers outfit in
1986-87. Asked to compare that situation to the one his players face
now, he said, "I know it's not easy. I know that it weighs on you,
but you stay professional, and you go out and continue to play hard.
... It's about getting better for us."
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