Sixers continue their tank with 126-113 loss to Bucks despite Adem Bona’s career night

For a while, the 76ers looked capable of messing up the tank.

Adem Bona was unstoppable while he and his teammates were spanking the Milwaukee Bucks. But Milwaukee built a 13-point lead midway through the fourth quarter, and all was good in the Sixers’ latest must-lose game.

The Bucks ultimately prevailed, 126-113, Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Center.

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It was a game where Sixers coach Nick Nurse picked up two technical fouls in 18 seconds and was ejected with 6 minutes, 8 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

“Bona blocked a shot,” Nurse said of what led to his first technical. “They called goaltend. I looked up at the screen. I saw it and I did a wave at the other end. And the ref at the other end, JB [DeRosa] saw it. That was the first one.

“And when Mitchell [Evans] walked by me on the second time, I said open your eyes. Got my second T. I kind of mumbled it. I didn’t really say it really loud. I didn’t raise my voice all night, actually.”

The loss dropped the Sixers to 23-54, extending their losing streak to a season-long 10 games. It also marked their 27th loss in 31 games. But most importantly, they remained two games ahead of the Brooklyn Nets in the race for the league’s fifth-worst record with five games remaining.

Meanwhile, the Bucks improved to 42-34, posting their second consecutive win after losing four straight.

The Sixers welcomed new 10-day contract player Colin Castleton, while Lonnie Walker IV suffered another injury.

Walker reached down and grabbed his right heel late in the third quarter. Walker attempted to run during a play. But after being unable to do so, he checked out of the game and went straight to the locker room.

“He got a heel contusion,” Nurse said. “He was cleared to come back in. So hopefully it wasn’t that bad if he was cleared. Hopefully, it won’t worsen overnight.”

He previously missed seven games last month with a concussion.

The Sixers were already without eight players — all members of their normal rotation.

Fortunately or unfortunately for them, depending on who you ask, Bona was available to play. The undersized yet athletic 6-foot-8 center finished with a career-high 28 points to go with six rebounds, three blocks, and two steals. Bona made 13 of his 15 shots overall and dominated from the start, scoring 12 points in the first quarter. Bona’s previous career high was 16 points.

On Thursday, he joined Hall of Famer Charles Barkley as the only Sixers rookies to score at least 25 points while shooting at least 85% in a game.

“I knew the team we were playing, and I knew I had to guard Giannis [Antetokounmpo],“ Bona said of his mindset. ”And I knew I had to bring the energy from the start because he is a big guy, tough guy, he attacks the rim, so I had to put some pressure on him a little bit from the beginning of the game. Also, I was really excited to play against him, too.”

Quentin Grimes added 24 points and 10 assists, while Guerschon Yabusele had 22 points.

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Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee’s two-time MVP, finished with 35 points, 17 rebounds, and a career-high 20 assists for his 53rd career triple-double.

Former Sixers coach Doc Rivers reached a coaching milestone in a game where he watched the final three quarters from the Bucks’ locker room due to illness. Rivers, in his second season coaching the Bucks, surpassed Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson for seventh place on the all-time regular-season coaching wins list with win No. 1,156.

The 63-year-old compiled that total over 26 seasons with the Orlando Magic, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers, Sixers, and Bucks. He has the second-most regular-season wins among active coaches behind San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich.

Rivers also has the fourth-most postseason victories (113) and a 2008 NBA title. His other accolades include winning the 2000 NBA Coach of the Year award.

The Sixers hired Rivers on Oct. 3, 2020, before firing him on May 16, 2023, after the team failed to advance beyond the second round in each of his three seasons. But the Sixers’ 154 regular-season wins in Rivers’ three seasons here were the third-most victories by an NBA team during that time frame.

“It’s awesome, you know?” he said of surpassing Jackson. “It just says that I’ve had a lot of success. I’ve done a lot of good things on the job. I also had a lot of help. I had great coaches with me. I have an amazing staff. I had some pretty good players throughout my career, but winning is what we’re supposed to do, and I try to do that. But I don’t count. I don’t look. That’s not why I’m doing it. I’ll put it that way.”