Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks put Joel Embiid, Sixers in their place with rout

MILWAUKEE — After a block that sent the game to overtime and a 39-point, 16-rebound performance to lead his Philadelphia 76ers to a win over the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night, Joel Embiid casually and confidently referred to himself as "the best player in the world."

On Saturday in front of a record crowd of 18,290 at Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo offered his rebuttal. The reigning MVP didn't use words, though. He let his game speak for him.

Antetokounmpo splashed a fading 17-footer, another mid-range jumper and a 3-pointer in a stretch of 58 seconds in the first 2½ minutes of the game. That was only a taste of what was to come on a night he poured in 31 points, grabbed 17 rebounds and dished out eight assists in a runaway 119-98 victory in which the Bucks never trailed in their 14th wire-to-wire win this season and 18th by 20 or more points.

Even after the game when he could have reveled in his standout performance, Antetokounmpo refused to disparage or correct Embiid.

"You want me to say something that’s going to go viral and he’s going to see it and there’s going to be a battle, but at the end of the day, I feel like Joel is a great guy," Antetokounmpo said. "Obviously, when I go on the court I’m going to go as hard as I can, but off the court I like him. I like his personality, he’s a down-to-earth guy, we were good teammates at the All-Star Game.

All things Bucks: Latest Milwaukee Bucks news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

"But at the end of the day, every player in the NBA should feel like he’s the best player. Who am I to tell him that he’s not the best player in the world? ... Everybody should feel that way, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to go on the court and if you feel that way you got to show it. There’s nothing wrong with Joel feeling like he’s the best player in the world."

The game shifted for good in the third quarter, hinging on plays where Antetokounmpo and Embiid played central roles.

First, just 34 seconds into the half, Embiid stuck his knee out while setting a screen, bumping Wesley Matthews who was trying to get around him. The whistle blew for Embiid's third foul.

Twelve seconds later, Antetokounmpo slithered around and under Embiid, drawing contact as he scooped in a layup for an and-1 that left Embiid with four fouls less than a minute into the third. Philadelphia All-Star guard Ben Simmons had already been ruled out for the game after experiencing back tightness after only five minutes.

The Sixers were in trouble. Antetokounmpo and the Bucks smelled blood. When Embiid bricked a 3-pointer on the following possession, Antetokounmpo pushed ahead in transition, jumping past Embiid for a layup that the 76ers center was loath to truly contest due to his foul trouble.

Embiid remained on the bench after a timeout and the rout was on. Antetokounmpo scored Milwaukee's first 11 points of the third quarter, adding two free throws, a baseline turnaround fade over Al Horford and another and-1. He finished the quarter with 12 points, eight rebounds and four assists in 8½ minutes.

"We knew the big fella was in trouble, foul trouble down there, so we wanted to keep attacking, keep trying to play with pace," Bucks wing Khris Middleton said.

When he wasn't scoring, Antetokounmpo was hitting his teammates as part of a 35-assist night for the Bucks. After his 11-point spree, Antetokounmpo lofted a pass along baseline to Middleton for a jumper then followed it up by snapping a pass to Wesley Matthews in the corner for a 3.

Up by just six at halftime despite controlling the first half — Philadelphia had 12 more free throws and led in second-chance points 9-2 — Milwaukee built its lead to 25 in the third. That margin came after a trio of 3-pointers, the first two by Robin Lopez and Donte DiVincenzo off Antetokounmpo assists and the third courtesy of Middleton, who was an efficient 10-of-15 from the floor for 25 points — 17 in the second half — and nine rebounds.

Eric Bledsoe chipped in 12 points and eight assists, while Robin Lopez added 12 points off the bench and Brook Lopez filled up the stat sheet with nine points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Meanwhile, Embiid and the 76ers never recovered from the punch thrown by Antetokounmpo and the Bucks early in the third quarter. After Milwaukee's lead reach 25 points late in the third, the game never got closer than a 19-point margin.

Embiid, in particular, never asserted his will on the game in the second half. He was 0-for-5 in seven third-quarter minutes and added a quiet five points on 2-of-3 shooting in the fourth before 76ers coach Brett Brown waved the white flag with more than six minutes to go.

In total, Embiid finished the game with 17 points on 5-of-18 shooting along with 11 rebounds, four assists and four turnovers in 29 minutes. He went 6-of-7 from the free-throw line with all seven attempts in the first half.

Through three games against the Bucks this season, Embiid hasn't attempted more than seven free throws in a game. In Milwaukee's two home wins over the 76ers following a debacle in Philadelphia on Christmas, Embiid went just 11-of-44 from the field.

"We just talk about it, we make it a point of emphasis and Brook and Robin and really everybody deserves credit for trying to be as disciplined as you can to still have a level of physicality, still make things difficult on him and do it without contact, without fouling," coach Mike Budenholzer said. "It’s a challenge. He’s a clever player, he’s tough to referee, but our guys deserve a lot of credit. They’re disciplined, they work hard at it."

With the win, the Bucks' magic number to clinch a playoff spot dropped to one, meaning they can clinch a playoff berth with a Washington Wizards loss Sunday. Milwaukee would eclipse the 2016-17 Golden State Warriors (Feb. 25) for the earliest playoff clinching date in league history.

But that's not something that moves the needle in the Bucks locker room. They expected to make the playoffs — when they do it is immaterial. What matters is they further established themselves Saturday night as the team to beat and they did so in large part because they likely had the world's best player on their side.

"We want him to play aggressive, prove that he’s the best player on the court every night and we’re going to be right behind him backing him up," Middleton said.