MILWAUKEE _ The 76ers are far from road warriors. They have ended up more like roadkill when venturing away from their home arena.
But their confidence was high heading into their game Saturday night against the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Sixers were riding a four-game winning streak _ all at home _ and looked at this game as a barometer of their improvement.
"I want to see us playing at a high level," coach Brett Brown said earlier in the day. "I've said, and it's going to be repetitive, and it's true. It's their health, their spirit, and their form.
"That's the recipe to land the plane. That's the recipe to deliver a team to the playoffs."
Unfortunately for the Sixers, they didn't remain healthy and didn't hit shots.
The Bucks prevailed, 119-98, as they handed the Sixers their sixth straight road loss and 12th in 14 games. The Sixers (35-22) are 9-20 away from home.
Philly also trails the Bucks, 2-1, in the season series. Milwaukee improved its league-best record to 48-8.
Ben Simmons returned to action but was unable to finish the first quarter after aggravating his lower-back injury. Joel Embiid also took his share of bumps and bruises.
The Sixers center suffered a small laceration under his left eye in the first quarter. Then he leaned over and grabbed his back at the end of the first half. And Embiid had a hard fall on his back while picking up his fourth foul early in the third quarter.
But he was able to complete the game, finishing with 17 points, 11 rebounds, and one block. The three-time All-Star was also hampered by foul trouble and made just 5 of 18 shots.
He wasn't the only Sixer to have a subpar shooting night.
The team shot 35% from the field. It didn't help that Tobias Harris (11 points, 3 for 10), Josh Richardson (nine points, 4 for 10), and reserves Al Horford (3, 1 for 7) and Alec Burks (3 for 13) combined to shoot 11 for 40.
The Sixers never led in the game.
Simmons irritated his lower back on a layup with 8 minutes, 24 seconds left in the first quarter. He stayed in the game and made a foul shot at the 7:21 mark. He subbed himself out 5 seconds later.
The point guard had five points, two rebounds, one assist, and one block in 4:44 of action. He made both of his field-goal attempts. Simmons continued to receive treatment on his back in the locker room during the game.
This comes after Simmons missed Thursday night's 112-104 overtime home victory over the Brooklyn Nets because of the injury.
The Bucks opened up a 25-point lead on Khris Middleton's 3-pointer with 3:15 left in the third quarter.
