In Michael Carter-Williams highly anticipated debut against his former team, the Milwaukee Bucks soundly defeated the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night, 104-88. John Henson led the way with 21 points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked three shots in 29 minutes. Khris Middleton finished with 19 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field and Jerryd Bayless poured in 13 points while Giannis Antetokounmpo was the leading rebounder with 11. As for Carter-Williams, he only scored seven points but showed off his overall skillset and length as he dished out eight assists and recorded two steals.
The Bucks shot a very solid 53.7 percent and held the 76ers to 88 points on 41.3 percent shooting, while also forcing 28 turnovers that resulted in 37 points. Milwaukee is the only team in the league that has forced ten or more turnovers in every game.
In the opening six-plus minutes of the first quarter, the tone was set early as Carter-Williams scored six points while Antetokounmpo had two steals as the Bucks jumped to a 12-3 lead. The 76ers were doomed from the beginning as they shot 5-of-20 from the field in the first period while committing nine turnovers that lead to 15 Milwaukee points.
The Bucks continued their dominance in the second quarter as Bayless and Henson both heavily contributed to a 32-point period en route to a 61-32 halftime lead. In the second half, things turned even uglier as Milwaukee led by as many as 29 points but the Sixers made a mini-rally to get within 16 for the final score.
Jason Richardson led Philly with 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting in 25 minutes while Robert Covington added 13 points and Isaiah Canaan had 11.
With such an inexperienced, depleted lineup in which their leading scorer averages 13.2 points, it’s hard to envision Philadelphia winning many games and should be one of the prime candidates for the top pick in this year’s draft. This was their fifth straight loss and 11th consecutive road loss this season.
Carter-Williams, who returned after a six game absence due to a right foot strain, sat out the fourth while O.J. Mayo was given the night off for a sore right hamstring.
It was not only nice to get a victory as Milwaukee was trounced 87-71 on Monday against Chicago but it comes before a tough four game Western Conference road trip.
The Sixers will look to steal a victory against John Wall and a reeling Washington Wizards team this Friday while the Bucks will travel to Los Angeles to take another bottom-feeder, the Lakers.