Tyrese Maxey scored 16 of his team-high 21 points in the third quarter as the host Philadelphia 76ers pulled away from Milwaukee in the second half to win 126-106 on Sunday in what could be Hall of Fame coach Doc Rivers’ last game at the helm of the Bucks.
Rivers has one year remaining on his $40 million contract, and Milwaukee will pay the remainder of that contract, according to an ESPN report. The club and Rivers and discussing a possible move to the front office for 2026-27, according to sources, after he has coached for parts of three seasons with the team. Rivers, 64, will be inducted as a coach into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in August.
Quentin Grimes had four 3-pointers and scored 20 points for Philadelphia (45-37), which won its second straight and is locked into the play-in tournament. The seventh-seeded 76ers will host the eighth-seeded Orlando Magic on Wednesday.
Justin Edwards made five 3-pointers and scored 17 points for the 76ers, while Andre Drummond added 12 points and 12 rebounds. VJ Edgecombe tallied nine points, a game-high 11 assists and seven rebounds, while Paul George and Kelly Oubre Jr. each had 11 points and five rebounds. Center Joel Embiid was out again while recovering from an appendectomy.
Philadelphia’s bench outscored Milwaukee’s, 70-25. The 76ers held a 54-48 advantage in points in the paint, a 21-12 advantage in fastbreak points and a 30-24 edge in points off turnovers.
AJ Green made five 3-pointers for Milwaukee (32-50) to finish the season with 232 treys, breaking Ray Allen’s single-season franchise record of 229 in 2001-02. Green was 7 of 10 from the field and 5 of 8 from 3 in the first half for 19 points; he failed to score after halftime.
Milwaukee’s Cormac Ryan finished with a game-high 22 points, to go along with a team-high 10 rebounds. The Bucks signed Ryan to a two-way contract near the end of February after he averaged 20.4 points and 4.6 rebounds with the Wisconsin Herd in the NBA G League.
Ryan came in averaging 13.5 points in the first 10 games of his NBA career. He closed the season scoring in double digits eight straight times while going for 21 or more four times.
Jericho Sims had 15 points and seven rebounds, while Ousmane Dieng had 11 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. Taurean Prince chipped in with 14 points.
The Bucks closed the season losing 19 of 25 overall and 10 of 11 on the road and will miss the playoffs for the first time in a decade.
Two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo missed the final 15 games with a hyperextended left knee, although he has repeatedly proclaimed himself fit to play.
–Field Level Media
