The term ‘Playoff atmosphere’ gets thrown a bunch when two high-level teams go at it especially late in the year. Even though the Milwaukee Bucks do not have that much to play for to finish out the year, the game between Philadelphia and Milwaukee felt like a playoff game especially down the stretch. Milwaukee could not hit enough shots early in this game and had to come from behind late. When they did attempt a comeback, Joel Embiid and Jimmy Butler spoiled the fun. Both players hit big shot after big shot. Giannis Antetokounmpo had a massive performance, but Milwaukee did not get enough stops to be Philadelphia. It is the Bucks’ first loss against the Sixers this year. The two teams meet again in a couple of weeks.

Player of the Game: Giannis Antetokounmpo – The college football podcast ‘The Solid Verbal’ plays a horn for a guy who plays great in a losing effort and you better sound it for Giannis. What a fucking night for the Greek Freak. He finished with a career-high 52 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists. That is an absolutely absurd stat line. Giannis had only 17 points in the first half. He went on a tear in the third and fourth quarters trying to bring this team back from the depths of hell. All credit to Giannis in this one. He played great.

Silver Star: Joel Embiid – If you asked the NBA, ‘What’s the perfect recipe for Bucks-Sixers?’ They would tell you Giannis and Embiid both having monster nights. Embiid finished with 40 points, 15 rebounds and five assists. Brook Lopez inspired him because he shot 13 three-point attempts which is excessive, but he hit a monster three down the stretch to give Philadelphia a seven point lead late. That was a killer. He plays really well against Milwaukee, and that has to scare Bucks fans.

Positive: Bucks didn’t throw the towel in – Listen, Milwaukee could have easily lost this game by 15 and moved on to the next one. But they had other ideas. Even though, the defense was subpar, they found a way to keep battling and fighting on Sunday afternoon. As Mitch Ross, Tapping The Keg Podcast’s co-host, mentioned to me, the Bucks took too long to get the game down to one possession.

Negative: Giannis cannot be the only guy – With Embiid’s 40, he had Jimmy Butler have 27 points as well for a more balanced night. With the Bucks, the next highest scorer was 19 points by Khris Middleton but the box score tells lies. Middleton only got rolling in the final three minutes of the game. If Bucks had that version of Middleton all game long, they might not lose this game. Hopefully, this isn’t an affect of losing Malcolm Brogdon where Giannis has to do more on the court.

Highlight of the night: Giannis dunks on Ben Simmons and calls him a fucking baby.

Next up: Bucks stay home to take on the hapless Los Angeles Lakers. These two teams met a few weeks ago, and Lakers still had a chance at the playoffs. That is no longer a thing as they’re eight games under .500. They just lost to the New York Knicks. LeBron James has been resting on back-to-back’s and while this isn’t a back-to-back, we’ll see if he plays against the Bucks. This is a game Milwaukee needs to win and take of business.

Charlie.