Milwaukee Bucks cruise past depleted Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns rally past LA Clippers

LOS ANGELES – Damian Lillard was just doing his job after scoring 30 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo added 25, as the Milwaukee Bucks rolled to a 124-109 victory over the injury-depleted Philadelphia 76ers on Oct 23 in the National Basketball Association (NBA) season-opener for both teams.

The Sixers, without Joel Embiid and off-season acquisition Paul George in front of their fans, could not keep pace with the Bucks, who also had 16 points from Taurean Prince and 16 off the bench from Bobby Portis.

“The first game of the season... there is energy in the building (from their fans), that excitement, but I think in the second quarter our ball moving picked up and we played the right way,” said Lillard.

“Like I said, I really prepared for the season and when the games come around I got to go out there and do what I prepared myself to do.”

Embiid, the Cameroon-born big man who helped the United States to Olympic gold in Paris, missed all of the pre-season as part of the management plan for his surgically repaired left knee.

The Sixers said on Oct 22 he will miss the first week of the regular season while George, a nine-time All-Star, had his Philadelphia debut delayed by a pre-season bone bruise in his left knee.

A strong start from Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey and an energetic attack of the offensive glass saw the Sixers take a one-point lead after the opening quarter.

But Lillard and the Bucks then found their groove, his three-pointer midway through the second quarter giving Milwaukee a 36-33 lead and his finger-roll lay-up pushing the advantage to 58-45 with 33.4 seconds left in the first half.

Milwaukee led 58-47 at half-time and pushed the advantage to as many as 22 after the break.

Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Antetokounmpo showed no sign of the knee tendinitis that has been troubling him, adding 14 rebounds and seven assists.

“It was great, the game plan was exactly what we wanted,” said Bucks coach Doc Rivers.

“They made some tough shots, we gave them a couple of threes but we just can’t give up. The offensive rebounds, we got to clean up.”

In other games, Kevin Durant scored 25 points to lead the Phoenix Suns to a 116-113 overtime victory against the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Clippers were playing their first regular-season fixture in their new state-of-the-art Intuit Dome arena.

But the buoyant mood among the home fans was spoilt, after a late rally by Phoenix sent the game to overtime.

Clippers star James Harden missed a free throw with four seconds of overtime remaining that would have tied the scores, allowing Phoenix to snatch a slender win.

“This is just one game – we want to keep building,” Durant told ESPN after the victory. “We just have a system that we can rely on for four quarters.”

Elsewhere, a new season brought a familiar sinking feeling for the Detroit Pistons, who took an eight-point lead into the fourth quarter against Indiana only for the Pacers to fight back for a 115-109 victory.

Myles Turner scored 20 points and Bennedict Mathurin scored 14 of his 19 points in the final period, when the Pacers outscored the Pistons 33-19 to take control.

It was a dream return for Mathurin, whose 2023-24 season was cut short by a shoulder injury that required surgery in March.

“Stepping away from the game for seven months makes you realise how blessed I am,” he said. “I’m just really excited we got the win tonight.”

The Pistons are hoping to turn the page on a league-worst 14-68 campaign last season. But new coach J.B. Bickerstaff’s tenure started with another defeat.

“I thought our guys did a really good job, they competed their tails off,” he said.

In Portland, the Golden State Warriors launched the post-Klay Thompson era with a blowout victory over the Trail Blazers, romping to a 139-104 win.

Buddy Hield led the scoring with 22 points off the bench for Golden State, while Stephen Curry added 17. AFP