MILWAUKEE — For the second straight night, the 76ers found a way to win without Joel Embiid or Jahlil Okafor. Also for the second straight night, they had to work for it.
The Sixers led by as many as 15 in the second half but watched that lead disappear in the final minutes before capitalizing on some timely turnovers and escaping with a 114-109 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks at the Bradley Center on Wednesday.
Gerald Henderson led the Sixers with 20 points off the bench while Nerlens Noel finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Ersan Ilyasova, who spent the bulk of his career with the Bucks, scored 17 points. He went 3 for 3 from beyond the arc and had 15 points in the first half as the Sixers shot 62.2 percent from the floor.
The Sixers outscored Milwaukee, 39-19, in the second quarter and led by as many as 15 before taking a 72-58 lead into the break.
But a bad third quarter let the Bucks back into the game and Malcolm Brodgon's three-pointer with 7:55 left in the game tied things up at 94 all.
NBA
Without Embiid or Okafor, the Sixers had a hard time stopping Bucks center Greg Monroe, who scored eight of his team-leading 28 in the final quarter, including a tip-in with 1:15 left that gave the Bucks a three-point lead.
But he threw an inbounds pass out of bounds with 35 seconds left and the Bucks up one. Tony Snell fouled Noel, who put the Sixers back in front with a pair of free throws and stretched the lead to three on a 12-footer with 15 seconds left.
Inside the box score
• The Sixers' 72 first-half points marked their highest total for a half this season.
• After scoring 39 points in the second quarter, the Sixers managed just 16 in the third.
• The Sixers have dished out 30 or more assists as a team in back-to-back games for the first time this season, as they had 32 tonight after having 35 against the Clippers Tuesday night.
• Twenty-five of the Sixers’ 32 assists came in the first half, which tied a league high for assists in a half this season.
• T.J. McConnell had nine assists in the opening half and the Sixers assisted on 25 of their 28 first-half makes. McConnell finised with a game-high 13 helpers, marking the seventh time in his career, and fourth time this season, he’s had at least 10 assists.
• Ilyasova went 0 for 5 from the floor in the second half after scoring 15 on 6 of 9 shooting through the first two quarters.
• After snapping a nine-game losing streak to the Bucks last Monday, the Sixers have now won two in a row against Milwaukee for the first time since 2013.
Embiid, Okafor sit again
The Sixers went into the game shorthanded as both Embiid and Okafor stayed back in Philadelphia, missing their second consecutive game.
Embiid still isn't playing both ends of back-to-back sets and wasn't scheduled to make the trip, anyway, but is also dealing with a bruised left knee.
Okafor, meanwhile, has had soreness in his right knee, so he too stayed back and didn't make the trip.
With the duo out, Noel made his second start of the season while Richaun Holmes served as the primary backup.
Embiid status uncertain
At the very end of his postgame media session, head coach Brett Brown was asked by a reporter — admittedly in an effort to lighten the load on his Twitter mentions — if Embiid would be available Friday when the Sixers return to action against James Harden and the Rockets.
"We really don't know," Brown said. "We understand the interest and learning more about that but, right now, we're not 100 percent certain. We really don't know."
Embiid wasn't originally scheduled to make the trip to Milwaukee but also sat out the Sixers' victory Tuesday over the Clippers because of his injury.
Trio heading to New Orleans
The Sixers will be well-represented during the All-Star festivities next month in New Orleans.
Embiid, Okafor and Dario Saric were all selected by the league's assistant coaches to take part in the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge (see story).
Brown was pleased with the news but thought his team deserved to send at least one more player to the event: McConnell.
“I wish that T.J. could have experienced that, too," Brown said before the game. "We are 9-2 with him as a starter. T.J. McConnell should be in that game.”
Embiid and Saric will compete for the World Team while Okafor will play on Team USA, along with Bucks rookie point guard Brogdon.
Up next
The Sixers will get two days to rest and recover before taking on James Harden and the Houston Rockets (34-14) Friday night at the Wells Fargo Center. Harden scored 33 points in the teams' first meeting, a 115-88 Rockets victory, Nov. 16 in Houston.