Sixers pull away from Bucks in regular-season finale; will host Magic in NBA Play-In Tournament
The Sixers will host the Magic in the NBA Play-In Tournament.
The Sixers beat the Bucks 126-106 in the final game of the regular season, setting the stage for the NBA Play-In Tournament matchup against the Orlando Magic.
With the Magic’s loss to the Boston Celtics, the Sixers officially earned the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference, and will host that Play-In game on Wednesday.
Here’s what we learned from the regular-season finale:
Thirty-two first-half bench points
The Sixers got a big lift from their bench on Sunday, especially from Andre Drummond and Justin Edwards. The bench scored 32 points in the first half, more than half of the Sixers’ total points in the half.
Drummond grabbed 13 rebounds and scored 12 points for his second consecutive double-double. Edwards, who’d fallen out of the healthy rotation, got another big opportunity and went 5-for-6 from three for 17 points. Quentin Grimes added 20 points, and went 4-for-6 on three-pointers.
The Sixers ended the game with 68 points from their bench on a quiet scoring night from Kelly Oubre Jr., Paul George, and VJ Edgecombe.
An uninspiring first-half effort
With playoff seeding on the line, against a Bucks squad led by AJ Green and Cormac Ryan, the Sixers still found themselves down 62-58 at the half.
In 2025-26, the Sixers have mustered just an 18-33 record against teams over .500, struggling for much of the year to find continuity and stay healthy long enough to beat top squads. Outside of the March 28 win over Charlotte, the Sixers’ wins over the last two months have overwhelmingly come against tanking teams, and they haven’t looked very impressive.
That uninspiring first half was followed by maybe the Sixers’ strongest third quarter of the season. Tyrese Maxey finally got rolling, scoring 16 points on 7-for-8 shooting, leading a 38-16 run that put the Bucks away for good.
Edgecombe’s playmaking
Edgecombe didn’t score many points of his own against Milwaukee on Sunday, but he continues to develop as a playmaker and a point guard. He had 11 assists and just one turnover. He led the team at +31 on the night.
In Washington, Edgecombe joked that he was the new “PG1,” taking some of the load off of Maxey. Before Sunday’s game, Nick Nurse pointed to Edgecombe’s growth as a point guard as one of the big highlights of his year.