MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Bucks won their second game in a row to improve to 2-3 on the year with a 91-87 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. However, it wasn’t just the win that the Bucks and their fans were happy to see Wednesday night at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
Bucks second-year forward Jabari Parker made his 2015-16 season debut after suffering a torn ACL last season. Parker started the game, but only scored 2 points in 16 minutes.
“I had a few jitters, but most importantly I was more engulfed in the game. Every chance that I got I tried to play my role. I didn’t overstep my boundaries and everything worked out for itself as the game progressed,” said Parker on his season debut.
Bucks coach Jason Kidd on Parker’s first game back said, “I thought it was a positive experience. He didn’t make every shot. I don’t think we expected him to make every shot. He had good looks, but just to be back on the floor and put the jersey back on and now we’ll see how he feels, and hopefully we can continue to keep adding minutes,” said Bucks Coach Jason Kidd.
Khris Middleton led the way for the Bucks with a team-high 21 points. Greg Monroe had 18 points and 8 rebounds, and Giannis Antetokounmpo added 17 points. Jahlil Okafor led the way for the 76ers with 21 points.
In a game with 17 lead changes, it was the Bucks who took the last lead of 86-85 after a lay-up by Monroe with 1:29 to go in the game. The crowd erupted, and forced Philadelphia to call a timeout. Middleton then hit a 3-point field goal to go up 89-84 with 48.4 seconds to go to seal the deal for the Bucks.
“We’ve been in this situation where we’ve had the lead and given up the lead. The guys stay together. We made some plays down the stretch on the defensive end. On the offensive end, we took our time and had two guys that delivered tonight. You look at Moose (Greg Monroe) and you look at Khris (Middleton). Being able to execute, and the ball was moving a little better in the fourth quarter. Tonight was a good win for us,” said Kidd on the win.
Parker wasn’t the only one who made their 2015-16 season debut. Guard Tyler Ennis made his debut coming back from a shoulder injury. Ennis played 8 minutes in the game with 2 points.
The Bucks head to New York to play the Knicks for the second time this season on Friday night, before quickly returning to Milwaukee for a home game vs. the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night.