MILWAUKEE _ It was billed as a litmus test.
Call it a solid indicator of the new-look 76ers being an elite team.
The Sixers got out to an early lead on the Milwaukee Bucks en route to posting an eye-opening 130-125 victory at the Fiserv Forum.
Philly improved to 45-25 and evened its season series, 1-1, against the Eastern Conference and NBA-leading Bucks (52-18). The teams will have their third and final regular-season meeting on April 4 at the Wells Fargo Center.
But the Sixers' win puts teams on notice.
Before Sunday, the squad was the NBA's enigma. It had been hard to gauge how much the Sixers had improved after several roster-altering trades since Bucks defeated them, 123-108, here on Oct. 24.
All you need to know is that Jimmy Butler, Tobias Harris, Joel Embiid, JJ Redick, and Ben Simmons lived up to their label as the league's second-best starting lineup behind the Golden State Warriors.
Embiid finished with 40 points, 15 rebounds, six assists, three steals, a block and just one turnover. Eighteen of his points came in the fourth quarter. Butler, acquired in a November trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves, added 27 points, scoring 14 in the final quarter. Redick had 19 points, making all four of his 3-point shots. Simmons finished with eight points, nine assists and nine rebounds.
Harris, taking just seven shots, finished with 12 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. The power forward, along with Mike Scott (six points) and Boban Marjanovic (six points), were acquired in a Feb. 7 trade from the Los Angeles Clippers.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led all scorers with 52 points, scoring 35 of the Bucks' 72 points in the second half.
Much has changed since the Sixers' loss to the Bucks five month ago.
Back then, the Sixers rolled out a starting lineup of Robert Covington, Dario Saric, Embiid, Markelle Fultz, and Simmons. Redick was the sixth man and Landry Shamet was his promising rookie understudy.
These days, Covington and Saric have been replaced by Butler and Harris. The Sixers elevated Redick into his rightful place as the starting shooting guard and dispensed with the major distraction that was Fultz. Shamet, part of the Harris trade, is excelling with the Clippers. And the All-Star duo of Simmons and Embiid are co-existing better.
Embiid (2 for 7), Butler (1 for 6) and Harris (0 for 1) shot a combined 3 of 14 in the first quarter. The Sixers, as a whole, made 38.7 percent o their shots, but managed to lead 31-28.
Embiid started to find his groove in the second quarter, making 5 of 8 shots. He scored three consecutive baskets to give the Sixers a 41-35 advantage with 8:29 left in the half.
Harris' 3-pointer, on just his second shot attempt, give the Sixers a 50-40 lead at the 5:38 mark of the quarter.
He then sandwiched two basket around Marjanovic's hook shot to give Philly its second 14-point cushion (56-42) of the half. The Sixers went on to take a 62-53 advantage into the locker room.
The Bucks pulled within four points late in the fourth quarter. However, Embiid answered with a 3-pointer to give the Sixers a 123-116 lead with 35.6 seconds left. Butler (three), Embiid (two), and Harris (two) went on make seven foul shots to give the Sixers the five-point win.
The Bucks were without guard Malcolm Brogdon, who is sidelined six to eight weeks with a minor plantar fascia tear in his right foot.
