PHILADELPHIA -- As he sat in the Wells Fargo Center's visiting locker room late Saturday night, Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo had one question for teammate Tony Snell, who was standing nearby.

"So we did it?" Antetokounmpo asked.

"We did it," Snell said, "the hard way."

Yes, they did it. They made the NBA playoffs.

Antetokounmpo, fighting a stomach bug, had 20 points, 10 rebounds and six assists as the Bucks beat the Philadelphia 76ers 90-82 to clinch a postseason berth for the second time in three years.

And no, the quest hadn't been easy. Milwaukee (41-39) lost forward Jabari Parker to a knee injury after 51 games, and was just 22-30 on Feb. 10.

They also lost three straight entering Saturday's game, and needed a victory as well as a loss by Chicago, Indiana or Miami to nail down a playoff spot. The Bulls lost 107-106 to Brooklyn.

Milwaukee trailed the lowly Sixers at halftime, but Antetokounmpo notched eight of his points as the Bucks outscored Philadelphia 25-12 in the third quarter to take command.

Milwaukee limited the Sixers to 22.2-percent shooting in the period (4 of 18) and 29.7-percent accuracy in the second half (11 of 37).

"Our energy and effort was a lot better in that second half," coach Jason Kidd said.

The result was best of all.

"I'm just going to tear up," Antetokoumpo joked, when asked his reaction to making the postseason. "It feels good. You work all season long for this moment right here. This is just the beginning. We want to go deep into the playoffs."

Kidd cautioned that the work is not done, that the Bucks must seek to enhance their playoff positioning over their last two games.

No matter what happens, Antetokonumpo believes that they can surprise people in the postseason.

"It's not going to be fun to play against us in the playoffs," he said.

Greg Monroe added 17 points off the bench for Milwaukee, which limited Philadelphia to 35.1 percent shooting overall, including 25.8 percent 3-point accuracy.

Matthew Dellavedova contributed 14 points for the Bucks.

Richaun Holmes collected 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead Philadelphia, which dropped its sixth straight.

Dario Saric had 14 and eight, respectively, and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot chipped in 12 points. T.J. McConnell had 10 points and 10 assists.

The Sixers, leading 52-46 early in the second half, missed eight of their next nine shots to fuel a 15-5 Milwaukee run, giving the Bucks a 61-54 lead.

Antetokounmpo provided six points in that stretch, and a 3-pointer from the left corner by backup guard Tony Snell with 5:39 left in the period put the Bucks ahead to stay.

Milwaukee, up 67-60 at the end of the period, extended its lead to as many as 12 in the fourth quarter, when Monroe and Dellavedova scored eight points apiece.

"The whole second half, we were flat and didn't bring energy," Sixers guard Nik Stauskas said. "We weren't making shots. On the defensive end, we had a few missed assignments and that led to easy baskets for them."

The Bucks jumped to a 17-9 lead out of the gate behind three dunks from Antetokounmpo, and were up 23-21 at the end of the first quarter.

Milwaukee then went the first four minutes of the second quarter without a field goal, and turned the ball over five times in the first eight. That fueled a 23-11 Philadelphia rush, giving the Sixers a 44-34 lead.

Saric and Holmes notched seven points apiece for the Sixers in that stretch.

Bucks backup center Spencer Hawes, a former Sixer, answered with Milwaukee's last eight points of the half, cutting the gap to 48-42 at the break.

NOTES: Milwaukee G Malcolm Brogdon missed his fifth straight game with back tightness, and F John Henson sat out his 10th straight with a sprained left thumb. Both worked out Friday and Saturday, and Bucks coach Jason Kidd hopes they can return Monday against Charlotte. ... Sixers G Sergio Rodriguez, who missed the previous six games with a strained left hamstring, has been ruled out for the last three of the regular season. ... Dario Saric, plagued by plantar fasciitis in his left foot, continues to be restricted to 24 minutes per game. ... Saric celebrated his 23rd birthday Saturday. ... Saric, Brogdon and Sixers C Joel Embiid, who is out for the season with a torn meniscus in his left knee, are viewed as the top three candidates for the Rookie of the Year Award. "What I feel most strongly about is that's our trophy," Philadelphia coach Brett Brown said. "That's our award. It comes through Philadelphia." Kidd did not state his own guy's case quite so strongly. "We believe Malcolm has done a great job and put himself in position to win it, and you're talking about a very talented class that could go to anyone from the Sixers," he said. "They have two candidates, and we have one. It will be interesting to see who wins it." ... Brown denied a report that F Ben Simmons, who has missed the entire season with a broken foot, has grown nearly two inches, and stands just short of 7 feet tall. "No, he is not (that tall)," Brown said. "I don't believe so. I feel like I've shrunk. I can feel comfortable saying no, he has not grown to 7 feet. I wish he had."