Facing shorthanded Bucks, Sixers seek second straight win
Fresh off their first home win of the season, the 76ers will look to ride that momentum Wednesday night. The Sixers (5-28) will entertain the Milwaukee Bucks at the Wells Fargo Center, and a victory would give them consecutive home wins for the first time since they beat the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls in the first two home games last season.
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Fresh off their first home win of the season, the 76ers will look to ride that momentum Wednesday night.
The Sixers (5-28) will entertain the Milwaukee Bucks at the Wells Fargo Center, and a victory would give them consecutive home wins for the first time since they beat the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls in the first two home games last season.
The Sixers faced a shorthanded opponent Monday in a 95-92 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Bucks are in a similar situation. And like the Cavaliers, the Bucks will be playing the second game on back-to-back nights.
Milwaukee comes in at an even .500 (18-18) after Tuesday night's loss to the Phoenix Suns.
The Bucks are without standout rookie Jabari Parker (season-ending left knee surgery), center Larry Sanders (personal reasons) and forward Damien Inglis (season-ending right ankle surgery). Forward Ersan llyasova (concussion) is day-to-day.
Milwaukee's Jared Dudley and O.J. Mayo, who were listed as questionable because of illness, did play Tuesday night.
On Monday, the Cavs came to town minus three injured starters in LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Anderson Varejao. Then they sat Dion Waiters, who had been their fourth-leading scorer, while his trade to the Oklahoma City Thunder was being finalized.
"We are going to have to continue to play team defense and share the ball," Tony Wroten said of the Bucks game. "Regardless of who's playing or who's not, everybody [in the NBA] is the best of the best. So we just have to continue playing."
The Bucks have won 11 of the teams' last 18 meetings, including three straight.
The Sixers had a fourth-quarter collapse when the teams last met on Oct. 31. After pulling within one point with 8 minutes, 21 seconds left in the game, the Sixers failed to score again. The Bucks won, 93-81, at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
The Sixers missed their last 14 shots. They also committed four of their 18 turnovers during the game-ending drought.
Mayo finished with a game-high 25 points for the Bucks. Sixers rookie Nerlens Noel had a solid performance in that game, He finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocked shots, 2 assists and a steal. Ten of his points came in the first half. He did not attempt a shot in the final 8:20.
This game will serve as a homecoming for Milwaukee assistant coach Greg Foster. He was the player-development and big-man coach for the Sixers last season.
@PompeyOnSixers