The Milwaukee Bucks will begin another extended stretch of games without their cornerstone piece in Giannis Antetokounmpo as they host the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night.
Antetokounmpo is expected to miss two to four weeks after he went down with a right calf strain just under three minutes into Milwaukee’s victory against Detroit on Wednesday.
The Bucks officially didn’t improve their 1-5 record in games in which Antetokounmpo has not played this season, but they beat the East’s top team 113-109 essentially without Antetokounmpo for the night.
Kevin Porter Jr., who is coming back from a torn meniscus in his right knee, an injury that kept him out for over a month, recorded 26 points to lead the team in scoring for the second straight game Wednesday. Ryan Rollins added 22, while AJ Green hit five 3-pointers to highlight his 19-point performance.
“Having (Porter Jr.) and Giannis out for that long stretch explains our record (10-13). Now we’re back at it,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said. “We just got to figure out a way to win games when these guys are injured. If we can get healthy, and I keep saying that, I like our team. We just can’t catch a break.”
Philadelphia enters Friday’s game on the second night of a back-to-back after it held on for a 99-98 win over the Golden State Warriors, who were without Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler III.
Tyrese Maxey scored 35 points to guide the 76ers, who led by as many as 24 points.
Joel Embiid played in his second game back since recovering from a knee injury and scored 12 points on just 5-of-13 shooting from the field, including 0-for-5 from deep.
Maxey was the hero on the defensive end, blocking the final shot after the Warriors zipped a pass down the court to Anthony Melton for a layup attempt with 0.9 on the clock.
“I just ran back and wanted to make a play and help us win that game,” Maxey told The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Maxey is averaging 32.5 points and 7.5 assists per game to lead Philadelphia. Embiid, in eight games, is averaging just 18.5 points and 5.4 rebounds.
The 76ers finally have started to see the healthy version of their team, though Paul George (knee) did miss Thursday’s contest along with Kelly Oubre (knee) and Trendon Watford (adductor).
Outside of Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee was without Taurean Prince (herniated disc) on Wednesday night.
Porter Jr. has provided a big boost in just four games for the Bucks, averaging 19.8 points and 5 assists.
This will be the second matchup between these teams after Philadelphia recorded a 123-114 overtime win in Milwaukee on Nov. 20. Antetokounmpo also was not able to play in that one, along with Embiid and George.
It was a career night for Maxey, who scored 54 points on 18-for-30 shooting from the floor while also dishing nine assists. It also was a coming-out party for Rollins and one of the signs of his breakout season for the Bucks, as he collected 32 points and 14 assists.
