Just over 24 hours removed from being absolutely demolished by the Charlotte Hornets, the Philadelphia 76ers are back in action on Tuesday night to host the Milwaukee Bucks sans Giannis Antetokounmpo.
It’s a good thing there’s a quick turnaround here. I don’t think the Sixers want more time to dwell on their last contest. On Monday afternoon, Philadelphia put up a pathetic display for one of their worst losses all season falling to Charlotte 130-93. The Sixers even trailed by 50 at one point in the game. Joel Embiid and Paul George did not play (left knee injury management), but still. Just truly pathetic.
Fortunately, the Sixers will have to quickly flush that one from their memory with another game ahead on Tuesday.
This is the squad’s ninth back-to-back of the season so far with seven more ahead. In zero-days rest games, the Sixers are 5-3 this campaign. They will have had a few more hours of rest than a typical back-to-back, though. Philadelphia’s game on Monday in Charlotte was moved up to 3 p.m. ET (originally 7 p.m.) to give the Sixers more time to get back home in the wake of the winter storm that ripped through the East Coast this past weekend.
The Sixers’ injury report will not be made available until this afternoon. That being said, both Embiid and George did not play yesterday against the Hornets. Based on the pattern of the duo simply not playing both ends of back-to-backs, it would not be surprising to see both Embiid and George back available for today against the Bucks.
Per usual, we will keep you posted on everyone’s official statuses once they are available.
We do know that the Bucks will be without Giannis, who currently has [no timetable for return](https://bsky.app/profile/jimowczarski.bsky.social/post/3mddrzovtwc2a) after being diagnosed with a calf strain. It goes without saying that Milwaukee is a completely different team without Giannis, who is averaging 28 points and 10 rebounds per game in 30 contests this season. The Bucks are 3-11 this season when Giannis is sidelined.
Kevin Porter Jr. is also out with an oblique strain and Taurean Prince remains out recovering from neck surgery.
The last time the Sixers and Bucks faced off was also the second leg of a back-to-back for Philadelphia. Strangely, three of the four times the Sixers play the Bucks this season are second legs of back-to-backs. NBA brilliant scheduling at work!
But I digress. The Sixers are 2-0 against the Bucks this campaign. The squads had their most recent matchup back on Dec. 5, 2025, in Milwaukee with both Giannis and Embiid absent. The Sixers won 116-101 thanks in no small part to Quentin Grimes leading the team with 22 points off the bench on 7-for-9 field goal shooting (6-for-7 from long range) with five assists. Frankly, it was one of the last good (or even decent) Grimes performances, with the guard struggling mightily as of late to say the least.
In the teams’ first matchup back on Nov. 20, 2025, Tyrese Maxey put up a career-high 54 points on 18-for-30 field goal shooting (6-for-15 from three-point range) with nine assists, three steals and three blocks in a truly dominant performance. No Embiid nor Giannis for that one either.
The biggest thing this game provides for the Sixers is an opportunity to get momentum on their side. It feels like every time this team wins a good game, such as their overtime win over the Houston Rockets on Jan. 22, they follow it up with a big stumble into a loss or losing streak. That’s simply not going to cut it in a tight Eastern Conference. The Sixers haven’t been able to string four or more wins together since starting the season 4-0.
With a Giannis-less Bucks team ahead followed by meetings with the 12-win Sacramento Kings and 12-win New Orleans Pelicans, there’s not much excuse for not getting the ball rolling in their favor here.
The Sixers and Bucks tip off in South Philadelphia at 8 p.m. ET.
**When:** Tuesday, January 27, 8:00 p.m. ET
**Where:** Xfinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia, PA
**Watch:** NBC Sports Philadelphia
**Radio:** 97.5 The Fanatic
**Follow:** [**@LibertyBallers**](http://twitter.com/Liberty_Ballers)
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