76ers Top Bucks In OT Behind Hawes Big Night

PHILADELPHIA -- Spencer Hawes had the hot hand and Philadelphia 76ers coach Brett Brown wasn't afraid to ride it.

The 76ers' center hit a game-tying 3-pointer with 1.7 seconds left in regulation and scored 11 of his 25 points in the final two minutes of regulation and overtime Friday night to lead Philadelphia to a 115-107 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Sixers trailed 98-88 with 2:10 to play but forced the extra session with a 14-4 run that featured three 3-pointers from Hawes, the last one tying the game.

Hawes ran to the sideline to catch an inbounds pass, turned, and while falling away from the basket, released his shot on one leg.

"Coach drew it up in the huddle and it reminded me of the last time a coach drew up a 3 for me to tie a game," Hawes said. "I was in college. I thought (Brown) screwed something up."

Evan Turner added 27 points in helping the 76ers snap a four-game skid.

"I guess the basketball gods were looking out for us and Spencer played well all night," said Turner who threw Hawes the inbounds pass.

Hawes and Turner accounted for 19 of the Sixers' final 22 points. Hawes added 12 rebounds for his ninth double-double in 14 games, and Turner was 8 for 12 from the field in the fourth quarter and overtime.

"Spencer took us where we needed to go, and Evan took us home," Brown said.

Caron Butler scored 38 points for Milwaukee, which lost its seventh straight. Butler fell two points shy of his career high on 13-of-22 shooting from the floor. He was 4 of 8 from beyond the arc.

His 3-pointer from the right corner with 27.8 left in the game looked as if it would end Milwaukee's skid, the franchise's longest since it lost eight in a row to close the 2007-2008 season.

"Yeah, I thought the game was in our control," Butler said. "But we haven't developed a winning brand of basketball yet."

Only two Bucks finished in double figures. Ersan Ilyasova scored 19 points and Gary Nealhad 10.

The Sixers also dominated on the glass, outrebounding the Bucks 50-32 and outscoring them 52-28 on points in the paint and 13-4 on second-chance opportunities.

Still, had Hawes not hit his improbable fall-away, the Bucks would have won.

"That was a tough shot," Butler said. "Hawes faded away, shot off one leg maybe, but it shouldn't have come to that. We had a lot of chances and all we needed was stops and rebounds."

The Sixers actually led by as many as 15 points in the second quarter, but the Bucks scored 23 of the final 31 points in the period to get within 55-53 at the break.

At that point, the Sixers were led by rookie forward and Georgetown product Hollis Thompson, who had a team-high 10 points in the first half and finished with a career-high 16.

Guards James Anderson and Michael-Carter Williams added 12 points apiece, and Carter-Williams fell two rebounds of a triple-double, recording 11 assists and eight boards.

The Sixers shot a season-high 57 percent from the field and led the Bucks in almost every offensive category, but forfeited their early lead and found themselves down by double-digits in the fourth quarter thanks to 26 turnovers that led to 28 Milwaukee points.

"We were very lucky," Brown said.

Bucks coach Larry Drew couldn't say the same, but ended up sounding a lot like Butler.

"Towards the end, we relaxed," he said. "We didn't defend the 3-point line. James Anderson got away and hit one, and Hawes hit three of them.

"It was a tough shot. It was a desperation shot. It shouldn't have gotten to that point. We had opportunities, we just didn't capitalize on them."

Game notes

Sixers second-year guard Tony Wroten left the game in the second half with a lower-back strain and did not return. ... Forward Thaddeus Young missed his second straight game while on leave from the Sixers for personal reasons. ... Bucks G Brandon Knight missed his fifth straight game with a hamstring injury. . The Sixers outscored the Bucks 13-5 in overtime and 27-9 over the final 7:08.