Tyrese Maxey struggles, Sixers are beaten by the Bucks in the opener without Joel Embiid and Paul George

Well, it's still at least 81-1.

The Sixers, at least most of them, finally made it to the regular season, starting with a 124-109 loss to Doc Rivers' Milwaukee Bucks.

Tyrese Maxey led the Sixers in scoring but didn't do it with any efficiency. He finished the game with 25 points, six rebounds and three assists while shooting 10 of 31 from the field and 2 of 9 from three-point range. Kelly Oubre Jr. finished with 21 points on 8-of-18 shooting.

Apparently Joel Embiid and Paul George were missing for the Sixers, while Khris Middleton was unable to play for the Bucks due to ankle injuries.

Here are some thoughts on the buzzer.

First quarter

• Without Embiid in the lineup, guarding Antetokounmpo became a team effort, if it wasn't already the case. KJ Martin was the first to draw this task and he got through the task quite well. Martin's contributions on offense were actually more notable early on, as he was only able to score a few baskets due to diving to the rim.
• As expected, Nick Nurse's rotations were very similar to what they were at the end of the preseason. Guerschon Yabusele played a few minutes on the four-man bench before sliding off when Andre Drummond went to the bench. Yabusele hit a few shots and grabbed an offensive rebound against Antetokounmpo, but was also run over by Giannis for an and-1. All in all, it was a solid first quarter for him in the NBA.
• Something that became clear fairly early on was that the Bucks didn't have anyone capable of staying ahead of Maxey, even though he didn't have much to show for it. He shot 3 of 11 in the quarter, with some missed shots. To be fair, this was an issue for everyone, as the Sixers started the game 4 of 15 and the Bucks missed six of their first seven shots to start the game. While he had a few tough misses in the quarter, Maxey hit that layup as time expired, giving the Sixers one point lead at a time.

Second quarter

• The Sixers had to play with Maxey on the bench for about four minutes to start the quarter, and that meant a lot of home creation from Kelly Oubre Jr. Oubre did a good job of getting to the basket, but the Sixers' bigger problem down the stretch was Getting stops as the Bucks scored almost every time on the field.
• Maxey continued to cook when he got back into the game, but the Sixers' play, particularly on defense, remained sloppy. There were a few misunderstandings during the transition and cuts were made because they were too aggressive. It was just a lot of mistakes that gave Milwaukee high-percentage looks while the Sixers worked pretty hard for the shots they got.

• Ironically, it was the 11 offensive rebounds they grabbed in the half that allowed the Sixers to keep this game reasonably close. They couldn't buy a shot anywhere as they shot 35% from the field and 19% from three balls. There were only six free throws compared to the Bucks' 12, but that's to be expected considering who wasn't available. The Sixers trailed by 11 points after Yabusele used a midrange buzzer.

Third quarter

• Nurse immediately made some changes at halftime as Caleb Martin was there in place of KJ in the second half. This had a positive effect on the offense as they scored in their first four appearances. However, they failed to cut their lead as they continued to struggle to get stops.

• There were many areas where the Sixers defense could have been better, but at the same time the Bucks were on fire from the second quarter onwards. In addition to the wide-open threes they gave up, Lillard also hit several contested 27-foot shots, as he is wont to do. Lillard finished the third quarter with 15 points.
• The Sixers showed slight signs of life midway through the quarter when Kyle Lowry checked back in and Ricky Council IV entered the game for the first time. The best they could do was cut it to 12 when Lowry found a cutting Yabusele for an and-1. That momentum was quickly dashed after Maxey was blocked by Brook Lopez and Lillard converted Yabusele's third foul. They simply weren't able to consistently stop the Bucks and trailed by 19 points after the third period.

Fourth quarter

• The bad news at the start of the final quarter is that Yabusele and Drummond both picked up their fifth fouls in quick succession, making their situation at center very delicate. The good news is that Giannis redeemed the Bricken for Chicken promotion twice, upgrading everyone in the building from five to eight nuggets.
• The Sixers had another burst of life, and that was because they finally made some plays on defense. Caleb Martin was able to finish and block a corner kick from Pat Connaughton. Yabusele caught Antetokounmpo on two consecutive possessions, creating quick breaks. Still, they were only able to cut it to 13 points at most.

• With just under four minutes left, Philly unofficially waved the white flag when Jared McCain entered the game for the first time. He made his first NBA jump, a mid-range pull-up from the free throw line. He missed his only three points of the night, but finished the game with four points after grabbing a put-back layup.
• The Sixers hit the road when they return to action this weekend. Their next game is Friday night at 7 p.m. ET in Toronto against the Raptors.