Milwaukee, WI – Monta Ellis scored a game-high 27 points to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 94-92 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday at Bradley Center.
Brandon Jennings followed with 21 points, while former Sixer Samuel Dalembert posted a double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds to help the Bucks snap a four-game slide.
Evan Turner led the Sixers with 20 points and Spencer Hawes added 19 points and nine boards for Philadelphia, which has lost two straight and three of its last four heading into the All-Star break.
"It was just one of those nights," said Philadelphia guard Nick Young, who scored 12 of his 14 points in the first quarter. "This win would have felt great. It's disappointing. We'll just try to do our best over this All-Star break to get over it."
Jrue Holiday, who was named to his first career All-Star game earlier this year, finished with 16 points and 12 assists in the setback.
Paced by Young's 12 points, Philadelphia shot a scorching 64.7 percent (11- for-17) in the first frame to build a 28-18 advantage after 12 minutes.
The Sixers led by double-digits for much of the second stanza, but a three- point play from Jennings late in the half cut the margin to 50-43 heading into the locker room.
After Lavoy Allen opened the third with a tip-in, the Bucks used a 14-6 surge to pull within 58-57 on Jennings' 3-pointer with 7:41 left in the frame.
The Sixers answered with eight straight to push the margin back to nine, but a 10-1 Milwaukee run, capped by Mike Dunleavy's layup, knotted the game at 67-67 with just under 2 1/2 minutes left in the third.
"Just playing harder," Jennings said of his team's second-half turnaround. "Our energy was low in the first half. We just got some stops and we just counted on the stops."
Philadelphia was able to build its lead to three, 75-72, heading into the fourth and it remained a one-possession game for the first half of the final frame until Ellis bookended a 9-2 Milwaukee run with a pair of layups to give the Bucks an 89-83 lead with 4:48 remaining.
Back-to-back buckets from Hawes preceded a Turner layup to bring the Sixers within one, 91-90, with two minutes left.
Ellis answered with a layup at the other end, and after the teams exchanged empty possessions, Turner finished a tough layup inside to again bring the Sixers within one with 20.9 ticks remaining.
Ellis then split a pair of free throws with 12.6 seconds left to leave the door open, but Holiday missed a midrange jumper at the other end that would have tied the game.
Holiday and Luc Mbah a Moute got tied up on the rebound to set up a jump ball with five seconds left, but after Holiday won the tip back to Royal Ivey, Ivey's pass was deflected and time expired before anyone could recover the loose ball.
Game Notes
Milwaukee center Larry Sanders missed his fourth straight game with a lower back injury ... The Bucks have won all three meetings with Philadelphia this season ... The Sixers fell to 6-16 on the road ... Philadelphia shot 44.7 percent (34-for-76) from the field, while Milwaukee shot 42 percent (37- for-88) from the floor ... Dalembert was selected 26th overall in the 2001 NBA Draft by the Sixers and spent his first eight seasons in Philadelphia.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.