Paul George’s Hot Shooting Night Powers 76ers To 139-122 Victory Over Bucks
Paul George #8 of the Philadelphia 76ers shoots a three point basket during the game against the Milwaukee Bucks on January 27, 2026 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
Vintage Paul George was on display Tuesday night in Philadelphia.
Following an embarrassing 37-point loss in Charlotte to the Hornets, the 76ers bounced back at home, taking care of business against the Milwaukee Bucks, winning 141-119.
The man of the night was no doubt George, who had quite possibly his best night in a 76ers uniform. George looked like his former MVP self in Tuesday’s win, dropping a season-high nine three-pointers for 32 points, five rebounds, and five assists. While he’s scored more points this year, this game was just a pure domination from George, who looked like he couldn’t miss from anywhere on the floor.
The other two members of the 76ers’ big three also delivered, with Joel Embiid finishing with 29 points, nine rebounds, and five assists, while Tyrese Maxey added 22 points and nine assists, and Jared McCain drilled five threes of his own for 17 points. Myles Turner led the way, scoring for Milwaukee with 31 points, while Ryan Rollins added 24.
Three-pointers were dropping right away for the 76ers as George and VJ Edgecombe both drilled triples in the first two minutes of action, and a minute later, George drilled another three. The Bucks answered with Rollins scoring six points, and Turner followed with five of his own, but after that bucket, the 76ers began to lock in.
Embiid kicked things off with a mid-range jumper for his first bucket of the game, and Justin Edwards, who was getting run for Quentin Grimes (out with an ankle injury), drilled a three. Embiid then went on a huge solo scoring run, scoring the 76ers’ next eight points until McCain ended it with a three-pointer and a floater.
Embiid’s fantastic first quarter continued after the five points from McCain as the big man scored eight of the 76ers’ next 10 points to close the first quarter with the 76ers leading by eight points.
Leading 42-34 after the first 12 minutes, Maxey took over the top guy duties as Embiid went to the bench after playing the entire first quarter. Whether it was scoring tough layups and three, finding guys like George and Kelly Oubre Jr. open for big buckets, Maxey was doing it all.
Despite the 76ers’ successful offense, the Bucks were staying in the game, thanks in large part to threes from Cole Anthony, Gary Trent Jr., and AJ Green. The Bucks’ threes were good, but the 76ers didn’t let that phase them as Edgecombe and Maxey, known now as VJ Maxx, answered back with triples of their own to put the 76ers up a game-high 13 points. On top of the three, Maxey also threw up a beautiful pass to Embiid, who slammed it home for an alley-oop.
As the first half wound down, it was the Turner and Rollins show for the Bucks, and for the 76ers, it continued to be the Embiid and Maxey show. Turner and Maxey both hit triples, and Embiid and Rollins followed with layups and mid-range buckets, answering each other as the 76ers went into the break up 71-62.
Out of the break, the hot hand for the 76ers turned to George as PG drilled two mid-range buckets for his first two shots of the second half, and then followed those up with two threes for a quick 10 points to open the third quarter.
However, the Bucks finally got a run going, thanks to an and-one layup from Bobby Portis and four points from Kyle Kuzma to tie the game up at 81. Oubre ended that 7-0 roll with a layup and a dunk on back-to-back possessions, and Edgecombe followed that up with a three to put the 76ers back up six points.
Turner didn’t let that last long as he fired back five straight points, but Maxey answered back with four straight of his own. With two minutes to play in the third, the 76ers jumped back out to a double-digit lead thanks to two more three-pointers from George, for his 16th point of the third quarter, putting the 76ers up 106-95 with 12 minutes to play.
McCain kicked the fourth off with a bang as he drilled a long triple, and Adem Bona answered Kuzma’s and Anthony’s buckets with a tough layup. Following Bona’s layup, George continued his hot evening with back-to-back threes, and with a double team on him, George kicked it over to McCain, who drilled not one, not two, but three threes in a row to increase Philadelphia’s lead to 22.
Despite an 11-3 run from the Bucks, backed by threes from Trent, Green, and Turner, Embiid checked back in the game instantly, drilling a three of his own, and Edgecombe followed up an Embiid miss with a ferocious put-back dunk to put the nail in the coffin. Both teams began emptying their benches as the 76ers dribbled out the remaining clock, defeating the Bucks 139-122.
Matt Brown
Matt has been a Philadelphia sports fan all his life and spent four years at Penn State University majoring in Broadcast Journalism and minoring in Sports Studies. He previously covered Penn State’s field hockey, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball teams while writing for a Penn State blog called Onward State. He has now covered the Phillies, Eagles, and Sixers for Philly Sports Reports since October 2024 and wants to pursue a career in Sports Journalism.
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