Sixers battle Bucks but lose in OT

On this day, the basketball game was far from important.

The 76ers introduced Bryan Colangelo as their new president of basketball operations Sunday before their matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Wells Fargo Center.

At the conclusion of the first quarter, the Sixers honored Philadelphia native and retiring NBA referee Joey Crawford. Allen Iverson was presented with an honorary resolution from the city at halftime. And the NCAA champion Villanova basketball team was honored at the end of the third quarter.

While all that was going on, the Sixers battled back from a huge deficit; took a late fourth-quarter lead; and eventually lost, 109-108, in overtime.

But the Sixers (10-70) were far from disappointed by the outcome.

"I'm pleased with what really seems to represent our season," said coach Brett Brown, whose squad became the sixth team in NBA history to lose 70 games. "To get down 18 with a team that's got 10 wins and still find enough motivation to throw punches and put ourselves in a position to get back in here to end our season, I felt like it's very representative of who we are and what we've done the whole year."

The Sixers were down 18 points with 8 minutes, 29 seconds left in the third quarter. However, they took a 98-96 lead on Ish Smith's dunk with 33.4 seconds left in regulation. The Bucks went on to knot the score on a basket by Giannis Antetokounmpo to force overtime.

Milwaukee went up, 104-100, on Miles Plumlee's dunk with 2:48 left in the extra session. The Bucks extended their cushion to 109-102 on Jabari Parker's three-pointer with 1:34 remaining.

But the Sixers wouldn't go away.

Hollis Thompson's three-pointer closed the gap to 109-108 with 42 seconds left. The Sixers had a chance to win the game in the closing seconds, but they missed three shots on their final possession.

"We almost lost the game," Parker said. "You've got to tip your hats off to them. They kept playing. They're only getting better, and they're a young team."

Khris Middleton finished with a game-high 36 points for the Bucks (33-47) after missing the previous three games with a strained left thigh.

Smith led the Sixers with 22 points. Jerami Grant added 21 points and three blocks. Robert Covington had 19 points and three steals. Nerlens Noel had 18 points and 13 rebounds on his 22nd birthday.

The Bucks swept this season's three meetings with the Sixers to extend their series winning streak to nine games. They won by 91-87 on Nov. 4 and by 113-100 on Dec. 23.

Jerryd Bayless (hyperextended right knee), former Sixer Michael Carter-Williams (postsurgery, left hip), O.J. Mayo (fractured right ankle), and Steve Novak (postsurgery, left knee) were out for Milwaukee. Greg Monroe sat out the game to rest.

The Bucks had lost three straight and eight of their last 10 games heading into the matchup.