December 05, 2025
Michael McLoone/Imagn Images
Paul George was back in action for the Sixers on Friday night against a Milwaukee Bucks team without many wing presences.
It took the Sixers over a month to string together two consecutive victories, a journey completed with Thursday's thrilling last-second victory over the Golden State Warriors. 24 hours later, they handily notched their third straight win.
The Sixers are 13-9 after beating the Bucks, 116-101, on Friday night. They were not impacted all that much by the fact that they were on the second leg of a home-road back-to-back, nor did Joel Embiid's absence loom large. Milwaukee was without Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Paul George returned to ensure the Sixers had a significant talent advantage even without Embiid, Kelly Oubre Jr. or Trendon Watford.
As usual, it was Tyrese Maxey who set the tone for the Sixers, but it quickly became clear that he would not need to carry such an immense burden. He did not at all, as Paul George, Adem Bona, Quentin Grimes and Jared McCain all had quality performances, with George providing some excellent finishing touches on the win. Jabari Walker went above and beyond with a three-point barrage to help the Sixers establish their early lead. The Sixers led by 13 after one quarter, turned that into a 20-plus point lead before halftime and cruised for the duration. It was an impressive wire-to-wire win, even against an Antetokounmpo-less Milwaukee team.
Takeaways from another Sixers victory:
Entering Friday's game, Walker was shooting 29.2 percent on 1.2 three-point attempts per game. But at every possible turn, his teammates and head coach have praised the two-way power forward's shooting stroke and urged him privately and publicly to fire away from beyond the arc.
"I'm really asking him frequently to take those threes, especially – again, he's a good shooter," Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said after Walker posted a double-double off the bench on Tuesday. "Like, his numbers and things that he charts, they're really high. But again, you've got to have the feel of meaningful games, just to get the confidence. We're really working hard to get him to take those... If he can just get to a stage where he can process it a little sooner, that he knows he's open as the ball's in the air coming to him and take a few more, he's going to make a bunch."
If Nurse is correct that Walker needed a standout shooting night to find the right level of confidence, Friday's game will be a turning point in his season. Walker, tied for second on the Sixers in appearances, is extremely well-liked. So when he knocked down his first four three-point attempts of the night, his teammates were increasingly excited in reaction to each one. These are the shots they continue to swear he can make:
count 'em! https://t.co/Xvs6jOB0yc pic.twitter.com/Ogz9pGp1jk
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 6, 2025
"I just want him to shoot," Maxey said on Tuesday. "I've seen him shoot in Camden every day. Every training camp practice, he made every three. I'm like, 'Dude, you've got to shoot it. Shoot it. You made every three in training camp practices, so you've got the leeway to shoot it. And Nurse wants you to shoot. When Nurse wants you to shoot, you've got to shoot.'"
Walker told PhillyVoice during the preseason that he felt like, for the first time in his career, he was seeking out three-point shooting opportunities rather than just taking the shots he felt obligated to take. He acknowledged early in the regular season that his initial struggles were making that easier said than done, but he has stuck with it. Walker has had a few excellent stretches with the Sixers, but his explosion on Friday takes the cake.
Entering the game, the question appeared to be: would Nurse play a nine-man rotation or a 10-man rotation, and if he stuck at his usual nine, would the odd man out be Walker or Justin Edwards?
Nurse ended up playing 10 guys in his regular rotation, but the 10th was not Edwards, but Kyle Lowry. "Coach Kyle," as Maxey calls him, basically never even pretends to look for his own shot. But he makes extra passes and does a lot of communicating. His teammates love him, Nurse trusts him, and in a very small sample size, the Sixers have thrived with him on the floor.
Nurse seems to try to find spots to play Lowry when he can. The criteria: an opposing non-threat on offense Lowry is able to hide on, and an abundance of shot creation elsewhere in the Sixers' lineup. Milwaukee has quite a few perimeter-oriented players without much ball-handling ability, so this was the right spot.
It is an unfortunate break for Edwards, even though he has clearly not played well enough in his sophomore campaign to earn nightly minutes. But Edwards did post back-to-back strong performances leading into Friday's game; it appeared his stock was rising. Nurse remains a passionate supporter of the 21-year-old hometown kid; the takeaway should not be that Edwards is in the doghouse.
A pair of additional notes:
• Grimes had quite a few early turnovers in the first half, but in the third quarter he shook off a brief injury scare and went on a torrid scoring run. Grimes had a tremendous game putting the ball in the basket, scoring 22 points on nine shot attempts, including a 6-for-7 line on three-point attempts. McCain is showing continuous signs of life as a playmaker for others, which has allowed the 25-year-old Grimes to spend more time focusing on what he does best.
AND ONNNNNNE !! pic.twitter.com/DTlMJHIDDD
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 6, 2025
• It is fitting that the signature moment of Maxey's incredible season is his game-saving block on Thursday, because this has also been the best defensive year of his career. On what became a stunningly quiet night for Maxey on the offensive end, he remained a pest defensively, nabbing three steals in the first quarter alone and eventually adding a block. Maxey's ability to expend so much energy so consistently is truly remarkable.
• George's veteran leadership that his teammates and coach have praised was on full display in this one. He facilitated one of Walker's triples by identifying a Bucks zone defense, directing traffic and then tossing a cross-court assist. The nine-time All-Star was in full control, and when Milwaukee made some inroads on the lead midway through the fourth quarter he casually drained back-to-back pull-up mid-range jumpers to calm things down.
George then drew a foul and knocked down two shots to halt a brief Milwaukee spurt, and when the Bucks had one last gasp in them, George got an outstanding stop on a two-on-one transition possession, leading to a Maxey bucket. Then he assisted a VJ Edgecombe triple that put the game away. All the while, George reached 30 minutes for the first time all season (29 minutes and 58 seconds, to be exact), indicating the nine-time All-Star's minutes restriction has been loosened.
Up next: The Sixers will now return home, and on Sunday night their black throwback jerseys will be on with the Los Angeles Lakers in town. The status of Luka Dončić, who just welcomed his second child, is currently unclear.
